Fisherman lost for 95 days in Pacific Ocean returns home
Maximo Napa had set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two-week trip, but ten days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him some 680 miles off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.
'I did not want to die,' Napa told Reuters after reuniting with his brother, in Paita, near the border with Ecuador. 'I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles.'
He said he stayed strong thinking about his family, including his 2-month-old granddaughter, even as he survived on rainwater he collected on the boat and ran out of food, ultimately spending the last 15 days without eating.
'I thought about my mother every day,' he said. 'I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance." NBC
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