2 hours of terror told by fishermen drifting at sea

(Baonghean.vn) - “When I fell into the sea, I tried to swim towards the ship and call for help, but because the propeller was too strong and the engine was too loud, no one could hear me…”, fisherman Thau recounted.

» Rescued fishermen drifting for 2 hours in Nghe An waters

Until now, after more than 7 hours since being rescued by the North Central Maritime Safety Company's ship, fisherman Nguyen Van Thau (born in 1992, residing in Nam Thai A commune, An Bien district, Kien Giang province) is still in shock.

When asked why he was adrift, Mr. Thau still could not remember the captain's name, the name of the fishing boat and the phone numbers of the crew members on board, nor the location of the fishing area.

“I felt like I had come back from the dead. I only knew that I fell into the sea at around 7am on September 8. At that time, 5 crew members were sleeping, only the captain was steering the ship. I tried to swim towards the ship and called for help, but because the propeller was too strong and the engine was too loud, no one heard me,” said Mr. Thau.

He continued: "When I fell into the sea, I called for help but no one heard. I became more and more scared. The more I struggled, the weaker my strength became. At that time, I thought I would die in the middle of the sea anyway, so I had to leave it to fate."

Mr. Thau drifted at sea for more than 2 hours. In a moment of despair, he was fortunately discovered and rescued by a ship of the North Central Maritime Safety Company.

Thanks to the encouragement of the shipmates of the North Central Maritime Safety Company and the soldiers of the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Port Border Guard Station and the medical care of the military medics, Mr. Thau's health and spirit have gradually recovered.

Mr. Thau said in a choked voice: "Thank you guys from the North Central Maritime Safety Company for saving my life. If it weren't for you guys, I would have died."

Mr. Thau was examined by military doctors. Photo: Thanh Binh

It is known that Mr. Thau is a fisherman who has just started working at sea for more than a month, has little experience at sea, so he lost his composure, and the more he lost his composure, the more scared he became. He added: "Normally, when working on my ship, I do not wear a life jacket because it will be difficult to work, only when there are big waves and strong winds do I wear it. Because of the fear of drowning, combined with the arrangement of the crew on the boat, I wore a life jacket before standing on the side of the ship. Thanks to wearing a life jacket, when I fell into the sea, even though I was exhausted, I still did not sink."

Contacting the captain of ship V022 of the North Central Maritime Safety Assurance Company, Mr. Vo The Cong said: “We were on a mission from Vung Ang (Ha Tinh) to Cua Hoi Cua Lo (Nghe An), when we reached the sea area between Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh, we discovered a suspicious object in the distance. We approached the ship and discovered a fisherman drifting at sea.

When fisherman Thau was rescued, his health was very weak and his spirit was in turmoil. When he was brought onto the ship, he still could not believe he was alive.

"My family's situation is very difficult. I have contacted my family and my parents are looking for money to bring me home," said Mr. Thau.

Thanh Binh

(Cua Lo Radio Station)