Indonesian teenager survives 49 days drifting on a raft in the Pacific

An Indonesian teenager tells an extraordinary story of how he survived seven weeks of drifting at sea. Aldi Novel Adilang, 19, was working alone on a wooden raft called "rompong" used to trap fish. In July, a storm broke the line that connected his raft to the bottom of the sea, sending him drifting without a motor or paddle for 49 days.

In one week, Adilang said that he was running out of food and that he had survived thanks to the fish that he had caught and cooked with wood from the raft. A report said he had stretched seawater through his clothes to drink.

Adilang said that he had lit a lamp on his raft every time he saw a passing ship – more than 10 times – but none responded, according to the Jakarta Post. But three weeks ago, after his raft drifted some 1,200 miles from his place of origin in Indonesia to Guam, Adilang sent an emergency signal to a passing ship. on his portable radio. Finally, he received an answer and was saved by a Panamanian ship.

Adilang swam to safety and the crew hauled him to the ship where he received a blanket and biscuits. He went home with his family but there are questions about his employer. This is the third time that the Adilang fishing boat is drifting.