A Peruvian fisherman who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean and survived by eating roaches, birds and sea turtles, has been rescued and returned home to his family.
Maximo Napa Castro, 61, set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two week trip but 10 days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift.
His family launched a search but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, local time, when the Ecuadorian fishing patrol vessel Don F found him about 1,094 kilometres off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.
"I did not want to die," Mr Napa told Reuters after reuniting with his brother in Paita on Friday, near the border with Ecuador.
"I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles."
He also said he stayed strong thinking about his family — including his two-month-old granddaughter — even as he survived on rainwater that he collected on the boat and ran out of food.
He ultimately spent his last 15 days at sea without eating.
"I thought about my mother everyday," Mr Napa said.
"The one thing that I want is a hug from my mum.
"I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance."
After being found, Mr Napa was taken to Paita by the Peruvian naval ship BAP Rio Piura for medical assessments, and then flown from the nearby city of Piura to the Peruvian capital, Lima.
Mr Napa says that he eventually wants to return to the sea to continue fishing.
Upon his arrival to Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport, Mr Napa reunited with his daughter Inés Napa in emotional scenes surrounded by a media scrum.
Ms Napa told local media that she had brought her father a bottle of the Peruvian alcohol pisco to welcome him home
His mother, Elena Castro, told local media that while her relatives had stayed optimistic she had began to lose hope.
"I told the Lord, whether he's alive or dead, just bring him back to me, even if it's just to see him," she told TV Peru.
"But my daughters never lost faith. They kept telling me: Mum, he'll come back, he'll come back."
In Mr Napa's home district of San Andrés, in the south-western Ica region of Peru, the 61-year-old's neighbours and relatives told Peruvian media agency RPP that they had decorated the streets with signs for his return home.
Mr Napa's niece, Leyla Torres Napa, said they plan to celebrate his birthday despite the day passing while he was lost at sea.
"The day of his birth was unique because all that he could eat (while at sea) was a small cookie, so it is very important for us that we celebrate because, for us, he has been reborn," the niece told RPP.
"For his dinner, we're going to prepare a soup because he has to regain his strength, he has a sensitive stomach after not eating for so many days.
"Tomorrow, we're going to make the food that he likes — a carapulcra (a traditional Andean stew), with duck and rice."
Reuters
