A Chinese woman swimming off the coast of Japan was swept out to sea and drifted more than 50 miles in the Pacific Ocean on a lifebuoy before being rescued 37 hours later, authorities said Thursday.
Japan’s coast guard launched a search for the woman, identified only as a Chinese woman in her 20s, after receiving a call from a friend who said she had gone missing while swimming in Shimoda, about 125 miles southwest of Tokyo, on Monday night.
Experts believe she was swept out to sea by ocean currents and an evening breeze blowing in from the mountains, with the lifebuoy making it even more difficult for her to move against the wind.
The woman was found by a cargo ship early Wednesday morning, about 36 hours after she went missing off the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The cargo ship requested rescue from the LPG tanker “Daihachi Kakuwa Maru” which was passing by.
Authorities said two crew members jumped into the water and rescued the woman.
She was transported to shore by a Coast Guard helicopter.
Video released by the Japan Coast Guard showed the woman drying off and wrapping herself in a pale blue blanket as she stood on the tanker’s deck with a crew member standing nearby in case she lost her balance, while others looked on silently.
A Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead.
She was tethered to a rope and safely lifted into the helicopter, where she waved to the tanker crew.
A crew member on a tanker involved in the rescue operation told TV Asahi that he yelled at the woman not to give up as she was tossed up and down by waves about 6.5 feet high.
Two crew members jumped into the water and tied a rope around the woman while others pulled her to the tanker.
One crew member said the woman looked exhausted but that they were all relieved that she had survived.
Social media was flooded with messages praising the rescue crew as “heroes” and saying “a job well done”, while others congratulated the woman for her perseverance and for surviving in good health.
Authorities said the woman was suffering from mild dehydration but was in good health and walked away after being examined at a nearby hospital.
The Coast Guard said the boat was adrift for more than 50 miles and that the crew were lucky to survive despite facing risks including heatstroke, hypothermia overnight and being hit by a boat in the dark.
Hidetoshi Saito, a senior member of the Water Rescue and Lifesaving Research Society, said in a television interview that the woman’s survival was like a “miracle.”
The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo reported on Thursday that with the cooperation of the Chinese consulate and Japanese authorities, the woman, her cargo and the tanker’s crew were safely rescued.
In its message, the embassy urged Chinese nationals in Japan to check weather and sea conditions, take caution when going to the beach or engaging in marine activities, and choose locations where lifeguards are stationed.
