26 Days Adrift in the Pacific: Ternate Fisherman Survives Miraculous Ordeal

Esau Sidemo, a 57-year-old fisherman from Ternate, North Maluku, has miraculously survived after drifting for 26 days in the Pacific Ocean. Speaking to Mongabay Indonesia at his home in Bido Village, Batang Dua Islands District, he described the ordeal as the most tragic experience of his life. "This is like a miracle," said the man, who has been a fisherman since his teenage years. As usual, Sidemo set out to sea that day in his small boat with an outboard motor to catch fish. However, just thirty minutes into his journey, the engine suddenly died. Unforeseen ocean currents then carried him far out into the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of kilometers from his home. Sidemo was adrift in the middle of the ocean for a total of 26 days. During that time, he survived through extraordinary means: he ate seabirds, fish that happened to leap onto his boat, and rotten coconuts that drifted nearby. He even had to drink his own urine to survive. Finally, a miracle arrived. A French-flagged cargo ship passing by rescued him. The crew took Sidemo to China before he was eventually returned to Indonesia. "I always prayed every moment for God to help save myself. And every morning when I woke up, I didn't feel sick, even though I was only drinking seawater and eating raw fish," he said, in late August. An evacuation process for a Ternate fisherman who fell into the sea after being hit by waves. Photo: Basarnas. Increasing Threats Stories about fishermen being carried away by currents, losing direction, and facing death at sea are not uncommon. Technical disturbances and increasingly unfriendly sea weather are among the factors contributing to such incidents. This article was originally published on Mongabay