A Turkish sailor who fell off his boat has been found after floating in the sea for a shocking three days.
Erhan Seckal, 39, had drifted through the ocean for more than 72 hours when he was recued by a fisherman in the island of Bali in Indonesia on May 5.
He was found when 30-year-old Gede Budiasa from Kubutambahan Village, Buleleng noticed a man waving his hands frantically while laying on top of a floating fish aggregating device.
Mr Seckal had set off from a port in Australia and was en route to Vietnam when he fell overboard, according to local media.
He was found severely exhausted and dehydrated, and was taken to the local community hospital for medical treatment.
Nanang Mustofa, Head of the Singaraja Immigration Office Class I, said: "Based on a report from the Buleleng Regency waters police , the foreigner was found stranded on a fish FAD belonging to a resident near the coast of Kubuaddan Village, Buleleng, by a fisherman in a weak, dehydrated condition and almost all over his body," he said.
"After medical treatment was carried out, the foreigner was then taken to the Immigration Office Class II TPI Singaraja for questioning,"
Once he had been discharged from hospital, Indonesian authorities deported him back to Turkey as he did not have a valid passport.
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Mr Mustofa confirmed he had been sent home, saying: "The foreigner was repatriated because he entered and was in Indonesian territory without having a valid travel document and residence permit"
The sailor was sent on a Turkish Airlines flight from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to Istanbul, Turkey. on Tuesday (May 10) at around 9pm in the evening.
Back in the UK, a sailor was plucked from the English Channel last year after they drifted “hopelessly” for three days with no power.
The stricken yacht had failed its unnamed owner, who had no power to radio out so could not raise the alarm.
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