An Indonesian teenager survived 48 days adrift at sea in a floating fish trap before he was rescued by a cargo vessel and taken to Japan, officials said on Monday.
A diplomat from the Indonesian consulate in Osaka confirmed to Efe news that Aldi Novel Adilang, 19, was in good health and reunited with his family in his hometown, Wori, in North Sulawesi province.
Aldi was employed to light up a wooden floating fish trap - so as to attract the fish - around 125 km from the North Sulawesi coast.
Once a week, someone would come with provisions for him and take away the collected fish.
However, on July 14 the rope holding the structure in place broke off and strong winds pushed it towards the north.
The structure lacked an engine and went adrift, but Aldi had a solar-powered radio, through which he tried to contact at least 10 boats that passed nearby.
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Finally, the vessel MV Arpeggio, bearing a Panamanian flag, caught his radio signal and rescued him on August 31 in the waters of Guam.
The cargo ship took him to Japan and Aldi returned to Indonesia on September 8.
--IANS
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