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AP
Adrian Vasquez, left, an 18-year-old Panamanian who worked in a seaside resort hotel, receives medical attention aboard an Ecuadorean navy ship on Sunday.
Updated at 6:01 a.m. ET: A teen has apparently survived 28 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean after going on a fishing trip with two friends, according to reports. Adrian Vasquez, who was rescued by the Ecuadorean navy on Sunday, said he stayed alive by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish, the BBC reported.
Vasquez said neither of his friends survived, but that he had always held onto the hope he would be rescued.
AP
Adrian Vasquez receives medical attention on Sunday.
The 18-year-old was found drifting alone near the Galapagos Islands on his friends' 10-foot fishing boat more than 600 miles from where they had set out.
He was first found by a commerical fishing vessel then handed over to Ecuador's coast guard. The trio had been missing since February 24.
The Associated Press reported the three were heading back to his home port of Rio Hato when the boat's motor failed.
Rainstorm
Vasquez told the Ecuadorean navy crew he likely owed his survival to a sudden rainstorm that replenished his water supply.
The young Panamanian recounted his story to Hugo Espinosa, captain of the navy vessel, after being treated for malnutrition and severe dehydration. He recalled they had caught a lot of fish, and had a big jug of water.
The AP quoted Espinosa as saying Vasquez had identifed his dead friends as Oropeces Betancourt, 24, and Fernano Osorio, 16.
Arnulfo Franco / AP
Rescued castaway Adrian Vasquez is surrounded by family members upon his arrival to Tocumen international airport in Panama City on Tuesday.
Panamanian navy boats began to search for the vessel but did not find it. Espinosa said the ice melted and the fish rotted, leaving the trio to live off what they could catch with their net.
"The spirits of the survivors began to wane with the passing of days," Espinosa told The Associated Press.
The report said Betancourt stopped eating and drinking after two weeks and died on March 10. Three days later, his body began to decompose and Vasquez threw it over the side.
AP
Adrian Vasquez, center, poses with Ecuadorean sailors onboard a navy ship on Monday.
Osorio died on March 15, also apparently of dehydration, sunburn and heat stroke. After three days, Vasquez pushed his other friend's body into the ocean, the AP said.
"When he was nearly dead, on March 19, it rained, and Vasquez was able to fill up with four gallons of water," said Espinosa. He spent the next five days eating raw fish before being spotted by commercial fishermen working on a skiff from a mother ship, the Duarte V.
'He was quiet'
Once aboard, Vasquez asked for a telephone so he could make two calls, the AP reported. The first was to his mother. The second was to the hotel manager to explain why he had missed so many days of work.
"He didn't know what was happening. He was quiet, looking lost," Espinosa said.
Vasquez was flown on Monday to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorean mainland before flying to Panama City on Tuesday where he was greeted by a crowd including family and friends.
The AP report said the teenager shed some tears as his relatives hugged him but he didn't talk to reporters.
The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Another kid that finds out the world out there isn't all peaches and cream. Sad he had to learn the hard way. People die all the time out in the "real" world with no idea of what they are getting themselves into.
its completely against the odds that any of them would have survived, there is another story about two guys that went fishing, their boat sank and they spent ONE night in the water, one of them died and the other almost died. Two weeks is a long time to be adrift, let alone 28 days.
I think we should hold a march against the Pacific Ocean for racism. The ocean could not pick on some white person.
Stupid dumb idot! Cant figure out that he could die before he gets the job done! As for the comment the americans haveing it easy, yes we do to a point, then we go to get help! We dont have a goverment that believes in haul in the money first and F^&*(K the people second this poor little baby does!
I don't know which is more tragic -- the difficulties this young man had to endure to survive, or the morons crawling out of their pits once again to demonstrate their unbelievable stupidity by communicating their tiny, nasty thoughts. Best wishes to this courageous young man -- God was certainly watching over him!
What a stupid comment. Why was god not watching over the 3 of them?? The other 2 deserved to die - is that your point?
Notanidiot--Oh, but you are. Don't edit my statement because of your small and nasty mindset. You're only demonstrating your ignorance.
If there was cannabalism, then the last two to be alive would have partaked together, but the second to the last person died too. He should have survived also....or do you think the survivor killed both of his friends together at the same time? not likely. The scenario that some of you are suggesting doesn't make sense. It would have to be something like this..Hey, lets kill so and so and eat him. Or, so and so just died, lets eat him. If this happened then why didn't the other kid survive also. Unless one person could do it, but the other was either too weak or just could not do something of the sort. It's possible that the lone survivor, maybe, just maybe, used some portion of a body, but would not be able to keep it very long in the boat because of the hot sun. From stories I have read, usually people don't cannabalize unless someone has already died. The truth may come out later once he has had some time to contemplate. I'd prefer to think that they tried their best to encourage each other to survive.
We've got to stop saying that God saved this one over the next one. We just don't know the answer. Part of it could be more faith than the next person. But part of it could be just plain however it works out. I think God just lets us be, to suffer and die eventually...We don't any of us get out of this alive. He just can help us get through it. If you've ever needed Him, and feel He's been there for you, than you know what I mean.
Saints--just to clarify, I simply said that God was watching over him -- period. Unfortunately, "notanidiot" had to read his nastiness into that statement by saying God saved him and not the others, which is NOT what I said. You're correct--and God has a plan and we don't know the answer, only He does.
Applause applause... I would have also thrown their bodies into the sea, I hate the smell of human decomposition.
after investigating numerous tragedies at sea around galapagos,I cannot say for a fact but 10 ft boat for 3 persons little too hard for me to swallow,tropical rainstorms would have sunk that rig in minutes,far east pacific current patterns would have swept the boat towards costa rica,possibly engaged in illegal fishing around galapagos and got separated from mother ship also exposed to equatorial sun for 28 days,he shows no trauma from sun,that s his story and he s sticking too it.
Similar story, just two white guys were involved. Just have a look at the difference in comments.
Sunscreen?
he didnt have a hoodie on when they saved him, did he?
The canibalism question is valid, no matter the races involved. But it should never be quetitoned closely beyond attempting to determine whether a murder occured. It has happened at sea more times than could ever be recounted and, although morally disgusting, I guarantee that everyone reading this comment (yes, even you vegans and vegetarians)would consume human flesh to survive. It is an accepted means of survival in the maritime community as long as you don't kill another to feed yourself. Anyone who dies of injuries, disease, exposure or any other means (even murder, but the killer will be held accountable afterwards) becomes a source of protein and fluid. And you cannot put the matter aside too long in a survival situation because flesh can become toxic in very short order, especially in the tropics.
I cannot believe some of the malicious comments and even the "lol" ones. He survived because it rained AFTER his friends died..the poor guy will never be right again. Damm, some of you people are just scary.
i'm assuming this is Obama's fault somehow!