Incredible story of teen who survived 49 days lost at sea on floating fish trap
There are few more frightening prospects than getting lost in the vast expanse of the ocean, yet one teenage boy miraculously managed to survive for nearly two months on a wooden boat before he was eventually rescued.
The ocean is full of horrors that remain a constant threat to your life, and nature itself is arguably the biggest danger as you're not only exposed to the beating rays of the Sun, but also at risk of getting caught up in a storm that could lead to your demise.
Insane footage has shown the final hours of a diver who was eventually rescued as he truly believed that all hope is lost, and one look underneath the hull of a cruise ship will have you fearful of getting near the sea for a long while.
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Indonesian teenager Aldi Novel Adilang found himself in a situation that would be everyone's nightmare though after a fishing boat that he was working on became adrift after a storm, and it wasn't until 49 days after that incident that he was finally brought back to land, as reported by Supercar Blondie.
He was working on a small wooden fishing boat called a rompong that broadly resembles a tiny hut, but in July 2018 strong winds snapped the boat's mooring roam causing the vessel to start to drift away into the ocean.
He managed to survive by catching fish and cooking them inside of the hut with burning wood fires, and he also attempted to use smoke from those fires to signal for help.
Eventually that help did arrive – although not before 10 previous ships passed him by without stopping, presumably unable to spot or notice the tiny raft floating by them.
It was the massive MV Arpeggio tanker that came to his rescue though, as he was able to radio over a cry for help that almost didn't work. The tanker initially passed him by like the ten others, before eventually turning around and saving him from the horrors of the sea.
In total Aldi and his rompong had drifted around 1,200 miles from their original location across the 49 days that they were stranded in the ocean, and his nightmare ended when he finally was able to swim over to the MV Arpeggio and be pulled up onto the ship to safety.
He stopped off in Japan at first in order to receive medical treatment before returning to his native Indonesia, and has since vowed never to set foot back on the rompong that provided his livelihood for over three years prior.