Indonesian teenager survives 49 days of drifting at sea in "fishing hut"

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Consulate of Indonesia Osaka / Facebook

An Indonesian teenager who nursed a fishing hut survived for 49 days at sea, drinking seawater and cooking fish on wood taken from his ship.

Aldi Novel Adilang was in mid-July in the cabin off the coast of Indonesia 125 km (77 miles) when strong winds caused the rupture of his moorings, throwing the young man of 19 years adrift.

He was found thousands of miles away near Guam, where he was finally stopped by a Panamanian ship.

The 19-year-old from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi worked on a "rompong" – a floating fish trap without paddles or engines.

The Jakarta Post newspaper reports that his job was to light the rompong lamps designed to attract fish.

The trap, which has the shape of a hut, floats in the middle of the sea but is anchored at the bottom of the sea by ropes.

Each week, the teenager would receive food, water and fresh fuel from a person from his company who would come for the fish.

"He was crying often"

On July 14, Mr. Adilang's wind was hit by strong winds that caused his mooring to break.

He only had a limited amount of supplies left, so he grabbed some fish and cooked it by burning the wooden fences of the rompong.

"[He] Fajar Firdaus, an Indonesian diplomat in Osaka, Japan, told the Jakarta Post that he was scared and often cried adrift.

"Every time he saw a big ship, he had hope, but more than 10 ships passed through, and none of them stopped or saw [him]. "

On August 31, Mr. Adilang sent an emergency radio signal when he saw the MV Arpeggio nearby. It was picked up by the Panamanian ship off the waters of Guam.

The captain of the ship contacted Guam's coastguard, who asked him to take her to Japan, the destination of the ship, according to a statement from the Indonesian Consulate General on the Osaka Facebook page.

Mr. Adilang arrived in Japan on September 6 and returned to Indonesia two days later, where he has now found his family.