In Japan, a swimmer is found alive 80 km from the coast after spending 36 hours at sea drifting

La nageuse a été repérée mercredi à 7 h 48 au large de la pointe sud de la péninsule de Boso. Unsplash – Joseph Barrientos – Illustration

Une femme qui nageait près d'une plage au Japon a été secourue à 80 km des côtes après avoir dérivé pendant 36 heures, ont annoncé jeudi 11 juillet les autorités nippones.

The coast guard launched a search and rescue operation after being notified on Monday of the disappearance of a Chinese national in the Shizuoka region (central Japan).

"It was around 7:55 p.m. on July 8 when we received the information after the woman's friend reported his disappearance", a local Japanese coast guard official told AFP.

Swept by the sea for 80 kilometers

Once rescued, the woman, whose name was not given, told rescuers that she had been swept away by the sea and that she was unable to return to the beach because she was swimming with a rubber buoy.

She was finally spotted on Wednesday at 7:48 a.m. local time off the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula, in the Chiba department east of Tokyo, by a cargo ship, indicated the manager.

Rescued by two sailors, her life was not in danger

Two crew members of a small tanker which was also passing in the area, contacted by radio, jumped into the sea to rescue her.

"There are 80 kilometers as the crow flies (between the beach and the place where the swimmer was rescued) but it is assumed that she drifted onto an even greater distance,” said the manager.

The swimmer was taken to hospital but her life was not in danger.