A Siberian coastline drifter, identified as a Russian male, was miraculously saved following nearly two months of being lost at sea.
The reported casualties in this incident include the man's brother and his teenage son, as per Russian news source RIA Novosti. They identified the lone survivor as 46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin.
Footage from Russian investigators shows a man with a beard in an orange life jacket, drifting on a small, catamaran-like vessel with a red flag, as rescuers work to save him.
The Sea of Okhotsk, enclosed by Russia's eastern Siberia and Kamchatka Peninsula, often freezes over between October and March, making it the coldest sea in East Asia.
On August 9, two men and the 15-year-old son of one of them embarked on this catamaran, as per prosecutors' information.
Contact with them was lost, and their whereabouts remained unknown for some time, a spokesperson for Russia's far eastern transport prosecutor's office, Elena Krasnoyarova, stated.
She further explained that on October 14, around 10:00 PM, the catamaran was spotted by a passing fishing boat in the Sea of Okhotsk near Ust-Khayryuzovo settlement in the Kamchatka region.
Investigations are currently underway to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident and potential violations of water traffic safety rules, leading to the loss of more than two lives due to negligence, according to prosecutors.
The survivor's wife told Russian media that his weight may have contributed to his survival, as he weighs approximately 220lbs (100 kg). She also revealed that they had enough supplies for approximately two weeks.
Pichugin is set to receive medical care in the town of Magadan, in Russia's far east, as reported by RIA.
The head of the fishing company that discovered the stranded boat described Pichugin as being in critical condition, undernourished but aware.
The incident involving the missing men and their son occurred in the vast expanse of the Sea of Okhotsk. Despite the harsh conditions, the world's coldest sea in East Asia, their catamaran was eventually spotted by a passing fishing boat.
