A 21-year-old Chinese woman was rescued approximately 80 kilometers off the coast of Japan after being swept out to sea while swimming at Shirahama Ohama beach in Shizuoka prefecture. The incident, reported by AFP, occurred around 7:30 PM local time on Monday, July 8, when she was swimming with a friend.
Strong currents and initial response
The woman, buoyed by a rubber ring, was carried away by strong currents. Her friend, panicking, alerted a nearby convenience store. “It was around 7:55 PM on July 8 when we received the information after the woman’s friend reported to a nearby convenience store that she was missing,” a local Japan Coast Guard official stated.
Search efforts and discovery
The Coast Guard immediately mobilized its resources to search for the woman. Despite their efforts, it was a cargo ship that ultimately discovered the unnamed woman floating off the southern tip of Chiba’s Boso Peninsula at around 7:48 AM on Wednesday, July 10, nearly two days after she went missing. Upon spotting her, the cargo ship’s crew contacted a nearby tanker and executed the rescue.
“There are 80 kilometers in a straight line between the beach and the rescue spot, but it is assumed she drifted for an even greater distance,” the official added. After being rescued, the woman was taken to a hospital where, fortunately, she did not require admission. Doctors reported that although she was dehydrated, her condition was not life-threatening, and she remained clear-headed.
Similar rescue last year
This dramatic rescue echoes a similar event last year, where an Australian sailor and his dog were rescued from the Pacific Ocean after being stranded for months. The sailor, 51-year-old Shaddock from Sydney, and his dog Bella survived by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater after rough weather damaged their boat during a 6,000-kilometer journey from Mexico’s La Paz to French Polynesia.