An emaciated man whose boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll this week claims he survived 16 months adrift on the Pacific, floating more than 12,500 kilometres from Mexico, a researcher says. <\/p>\n
The man, with a long beard and hair, was discovered on Thursday when his 7.32-metre fibreglass boat with propellerless engines floated onto the reef at Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands and he was spotted by two locals. <\/p>\n
'His condition isn't good, but he's getting better,' Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student doing research on Ebon, said by telephone. <\/p>\n
Fjeldstad said the man, dressed only in a pair of ragged underpants, claims he left Mexico for El Salvador in September 2012 with a companion, who died at sea several months ago. <\/p>\n
Details of his survival are sketchy, Fjeldstad added, as the man only speaks Spanish, but he said his name was Jose Ivan. <\/p>\n
'The boat is really scratched up and looks like it has been in the water for a long time,' said the researcher. <\/p>\n
'He has a long beard and hair.' <\/p>\n
Ivan indicated to Fjeldstad that he survived by eating turtles, birds and fish and drinking turtle blood when there was no rain. <\/p>\n
No fishing gear was on the boat and Ivan suggested he caught turtles and birds with his bare hands. <\/p>\n
There was a turtle on the boat when it landed at Ebon. <\/p>\n
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Man washes up in Marshall Islands<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An emaciated man whose boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll this week claims he survived 16 months adrift on the Pacific, floating more than 12,500 kilometres from Mexico, a researcher says. The man, with a long beard and hair, was discovered on Thursday when his 7.32-metre fibreglass boat with propellerless engines floated onto the reef at Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands and he was spotted by two locals Continue reading