Fisherman's watch leads to 'miracle' rescue after 24 hours in sea
· WIONA fisherman was rescued off New Zealand's coast on Wednesday after he spent nearly a day in the cold and turbulent sea.
The unnamed angler embarked on a fishing trip on his 12-meter boat on Tuesday and fell into the sea about 30 nautical miles off New Zealand's North Island, a statement by the Whangamatā Police Sergeant Will Hamilton said.
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As the boat moved out of his reach, the fisherman attempted to swim to the nearby Alderman Islands. But the choppy waters dragged him away. He survived a cold night in the sea as he was too tired to keep swimming. At one point, a shark came near him but left without attacking.
Hamilton said, "It is an absolute miracle the fisherman is still alive after the ordeal."
After 24 hours, three fishermen, noticing a reflection in the water, set out to investigate where it was coming from. As they got closer, they found the stranded man desperately trying to catch their attention using the Sun's reflection from his watch. "Without the quick actions of the three gentlemen that retrieved him, this certainly would have had a tragic outcome," Hamilton said.
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They took the fisherman to Whangamatā, where he received treatment for hypothermia and exhaustion. "The boaties did a stellar job and without a doubt saved this man's life," Hamilton said.
One of the rescuers, James Mcdonnell, told Newshub, "a series of fortunate events" led to the fisherman's rescue. When they saw the watch's reflection, they weren't expecting to find a person.
"I mean, we were ten miles (16 kilometres) off the back of Mayor Island and not a boat in sight, but sure enough, as we got closer, it was quite obvious that someone was waving their arms," he said.
Max White was another rescuer who said their priority was to board the man on the boat and keep him awake and warm. "We had a big cooler bag and wrapped him up in as many layers as possible," he said.
"He's desperate for water. So I had a bit of warm water on the boat and some cranberry juice. Give him what we can and try, and get him talking and make sure he stayed awake as best possible."
The police said the fisherman wanted to express his gratitude to the rescuers and the emergency services for saving his life.
Authorities are searching for the fisherman's boat, but he held onto the one thing that gave him hope during his ordeal. "The boat may be missing, but the fisherman still has his watch," Hamilton said.
(With inputs from agencies)