Two of Two Missing Fishermen Found Alive After Boat Vanishes off Washington Coast
A fisherman who went missing two weeks ago was found alive in a life raft off the Washington coast, the US Coast Guard said.
A Good Samaritan vessel located the missing mariner some 70 miles (112km) northwest of Cape Flattery on 26 October.
A second person aboard the missing boat has still not been found.
The vessel left Grays Harbor in Washington state on 12 October on Evening, a 43-foot ship.
It was intended to return on 15 October, according to the Coast Guard.
The rescued fisherman was transported to shore and is reported to be in a stable condition, the Coast Guard said.
Officials did not name the rescuers, but NBC affiliate TV channel King-TV identified them as Ryan Planes and his uncle John from Sooke, a town on Vancouver island in British Columbia.
Mr Planes said: “I saw what looked like a life raft in the distance and ran inside and put the binoculars on him and then he shot off a flare.”
“We pulled him on board. He gave me a big hug and it was emotional,” his uncle added.
The pair who were out with friends on a fishing trip said the fisherman told them he was alone on the raft for 13 days.
He told the men he caught a salmon and ate it to survive.
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John said: “We made him breakfast. He drank three bottles of water. He was pretty hungry, poor guy.”
With the help of the Canadian Coast Guard, the fisherman was taken to a hospital in Tofino, a town on Vancouver Island, where he is recovering, according to King-TV.
The incident remains under investigation, the Coast Guard said.
Good Samaritans are private vessels that voluntarily aid injured people or those in danger at sea without compensation, according to the Coast Guard’s website.
