I PASS ALONG AN ARTICLE REGARDING A SPECTACULAR RESCUE
Miracle at sea - 3 survive in capsized boat for 90 hours
October 31, 10:38 PM
Japan Headlines Examiner
3 men found alive after 90 hours in capsized boat.
(youtube)
It was a miracle: three Japanese fishermen were rescued after surviving for nearly four days with no food and water, trapped under their vessel which had overturned on the Pacific high seas due to an oncoming typhoon. On October 31st, the three were released from the hospital and were flown back to the Japanese mainland to meet waiting relatives and reporters.
On October 20th, eight men set out on the Daiichi-Koufuku-Maru to fish the Pacific Ocean off of the small Hachijo Island in the Izu island chain, a couple hundred miles south of Tokyo. When they did not return contact late on the 24th as scheduled, alerts went up. Unfortunately, all search efforts were forcibly delayed due to Typhoon Lupits rough weather. Sometime around noon on the 28th, the Daiichi-Koufuku-Maru was found floating upside-down about 80 miles East-Northeast of its last known position, according to the Asahi.
Inside the capsized boat rescue workers found three men - Takamitsu Nyubara, Moriyoshi Utsunomiya, and Masao Hayakawa - trapped, but still alive. Divers helped extract the men and they were taken to a local hospital on Hachijo. The three were released in the morning of the 31st and flown by helicopter back to Japans mainland to meet awaiting family with hugs and tears. The one of the elementary-aged children of Nyubara said in tears, Im glad I can see Dad.
The story of the three mens survival at sea
At a press conference on the afternoon of the 31st, their survival story was elaborated. In the evening hours of the 24th, seven of the crewmen were in the cabin resting, while only the captain kept watch outside. A warning bell went off, and several of the men got up and dashed outside. However, before Nyubara, Utsunomiya, and Hayakawa could get out, the ship was hit by a large wave and capsized. In the process, a refrigerator toppled over, blocking the exit hatch.
The three men sat in overturned cabin, with seawater up to their chests, for 90 hours waiting for help. Hayakawa told reporters that he wondered, Will we be rescued? Will we not be rescued? Nyubara admitted that he thought, I wonder when, how will I die. When will I no longer be able to breathe?
The three men said that they barely talked during the time, beyond asking each other if they were still alive. At one point, after the refrigerator that had blocked them in had moved away from the door, the less-experienced Nyubara thought of trying to get out. He said the hours had felt long, and in the dark, cramped, and wet space, he was a continually worried that the boat might sink. He wanted to leave, but the other two stopped him, persuading him that it was better to just wait.
As Typhoon Lupit passed through, the three men and their capsized boat floated in waves that were likely 15 to 30 feet high. As the waves settled, they said their feelings of hope for rescue rose. Finally they heard a tapping on the boat from the outside, and they began to shout, Were here! A rescue diver popped up inside with a torch, and they were saved.
The three had beaten the all the odds. The Chunichi reports that other examples of such survival at sea in Japanese waters have been much shorter, with only three previous cases being more than 24 hours: in 1971, one man survived 25 hours; in 1987, one man survived 28; and in 1981, two were found living after an astonishing 76 hours. Nyubara commented, Because there were three of us, we stayed alive.
A bittersweet ending for the survivors
Sadly, their miraculous survival is bittersweet. The boats captain, Shingo Mikiyama, was found dead in a life-raft on the same day the three were rescued. The other four men are still missing. Rescuers are continuing to search, but chances of finding them alive now are almost none.
The three men were quiet during the press conference on the 31st. When asked what he wanted to do now, the relatively silent Utsunomiya finally said with a faint first smile, I want to eat something delicious.
Miracle at sea - 3 survive in capsized boat for 90 hours
October 31, 10:38 PM
3 men found alive after 90 hours in capsized boat.
(youtube)
It was a miracle: three Japanese fishermen were rescued after surviving for nearly four days with no food and water, trapped under their vessel which had overturned on the Pacific high seas due to an oncoming typhoon. On October 31st, the three were released from the hospital and were flown back to the Japanese mainland to meet waiting relatives and reporters.
On October 20th, eight men set out on the Daiichi-Koufuku-Maru to fish the Pacific Ocean off of the small Hachijo Island in the Izu island chain, a couple hundred miles south of Tokyo. When they did not return contact late on the 24th as scheduled, alerts went up. Unfortunately, all search efforts were forcibly delayed due to Typhoon Lupits rough weather. Sometime around noon on the 28th, the Daiichi-Koufuku-Maru was found floating upside-down about 80 miles East-Northeast of its last known position, according to the Asahi.
Inside the capsized boat rescue workers found three men - Takamitsu Nyubara, Moriyoshi Utsunomiya, and Masao Hayakawa - trapped, but still alive. Divers helped extract the men and they were taken to a local hospital on Hachijo. The three were released in the morning of the 31st and flown by helicopter back to Japans mainland to meet awaiting family with hugs and tears. The one of the elementary-aged children of Nyubara said in tears, Im glad I can see Dad.
The story of the three mens survival at sea
At a press conference on the afternoon of the 31st, their survival story was elaborated. In the evening hours of the 24th, seven of the crewmen were in the cabin resting, while only the captain kept watch outside. A warning bell went off, and several of the men got up and dashed outside. However, before Nyubara, Utsunomiya, and Hayakawa could get out, the ship was hit by a large wave and capsized. In the process, a refrigerator toppled over, blocking the exit hatch.
The three men sat in overturned cabin, with seawater up to their chests, for 90 hours waiting for help. Hayakawa told reporters that he wondered, Will we be rescued? Will we not be rescued? Nyubara admitted that he thought, I wonder when, how will I die. When will I no longer be able to breathe?
The three men said that they barely talked during the time, beyond asking each other if they were still alive. At one point, after the refrigerator that had blocked them in had moved away from the door, the less-experienced Nyubara thought of trying to get out. He said the hours had felt long, and in the dark, cramped, and wet space, he was a continually worried that the boat might sink. He wanted to leave, but the other two stopped him, persuading him that it was better to just wait.
As Typhoon Lupit passed through, the three men and their capsized boat floated in waves that were likely 15 to 30 feet high. As the waves settled, they said their feelings of hope for rescue rose. Finally they heard a tapping on the boat from the outside, and they began to shout, Were here! A rescue diver popped up inside with a torch, and they were saved.
The three had beaten the all the odds. The Chunichi reports that other examples of such survival at sea in Japanese waters have been much shorter, with only three previous cases being more than 24 hours: in 1971, one man survived 25 hours; in 1987, one man survived 28; and in 1981, two were found living after an astonishing 76 hours. Nyubara commented, Because there were three of us, we stayed alive.
A bittersweet ending for the survivors
Sadly, their miraculous survival is bittersweet. The boats captain, Shingo Mikiyama, was found dead in a life-raft on the same day the three were rescued. The other four men are still missing. Rescuers are continuing to search, but chances of finding them alive now are almost none.
The three men were quiet during the press conference on the 31st. When asked what he wanted to do now, the relatively silent Utsunomiya finally said with a faint first smile, I want to eat something delicious.
