Fisherman survives adrift for 95 days by eating turtles and cockroaches

A Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa Castro has been rescued and reunited with his family after spending 95 days lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean. The fisherman survived his ordeal by eating cockroaches, birds and sea turtles and catching rainwater in his boat.

Castro, 61, set off for what should have been a two-week fishing trip from the coastal town of Marcona, on the southern Peruvian coast, on 7 December. Ten days in, a storm blew his yacht off course, leaving him adrift with dwindling supplies.

Castro was rescued by a passing Ecuadorian patrol vessel Don F 1,094km (680 miles) from the coast.

The emotional reunion with brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, was captured by awaiting media.

According to reports from the BBC, his last 15 days were spent without food.

Castro said that thinking about his family, including his young granddaughter, helped motivate him to survive while lost at sea.

“I said I didn’t want to die for my mother,” Castro said.

“I had a granddaughter who is a few months old, I held on to her,” he said. “I’m thankful to God for giving me a second chance.”

As he was battling to stay alive, his mother, Elena Castro, told local media that she had started to lose hope that she’d ever see her son again.

After being assessed by medics, Castro was flown to Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport, where he was met by his daughter, Inés Napa, in an emotional reunion.

In his home district of San Andrés in the Ica region, the streets had been decorated in celebration.

Castro’s reunion with his mother was also posted on social media.

Last year, a Russian man named Mikhail Pichugin survived after being adrift in an inflatable boat for 67 days in the icy waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. His brother Sergey, 49, and nephew Ilya, 15, both lost their lives during the ordeal.

Similarly, José Salvador Alvarenga, a Salvadoran fisherman, endured an extraordinary 14-month ordeal adrift in the Pacific Ocean.