Fully clothed Brit saved after ‘3 days at sea on surfboard’
RESCUE Man plucked from the water
A BRIT plucked from the Mediterranean by rescuers claims he had clung to a surfboard for three days after falling from a boat.
The 55-year-old was found fully clothed on the board drifting off the coast of Spain.
But his fantastic story has baffled officials. Coastguards said he had told both the yacht that spotted him off Marbella and the rescue ship that took him ashore suffering hypothermia that he had been at sea three days, after “falling off a cruise ship or merchant vessel”.
But police said he did not repeat his claims to them and they had taken him back to his Costa del Sol hotel after he received medical treatment.
A spokeswoman for the Spanish Coastguards said: “We’ve not been aware of anyone falling or jumping from a cruise ship or merchant vessel in the area. We didn’t see a passport but from the way he spoke, he appeared British.”
A spokesman for the National Police in Malaga said: “He didn’t repeat his claims about being at sea for three days to the officers. He was asked but didn’t say anything.”
A police source said: “The man didn’t present any complaint and because there’s no obvious indications a crime has been committed, that’s the end of the matter.”
Few cruise ships are currently operating as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2018, British air hostess Kay Longstaff survived 10 hours floating at sea after reportedly jumping off the stern of a cruise ship as it sailed to Venice from the port of Vargarola near Pula, Croatia.