Teen survives nearly 50 days lost at sea by filtering seawater and cooking fish on floating hut
Being lost at sea is a nightmarish scenario that only seems like fiction, from Captain Robert Hooke’s pirate stories. These adventures often test human strength, and for many, would mean an almost certain tragedy.But sometimes, stories come up that defy these odds, and are a true example of resilience, hope, and survival against all odds, and compel one to only wonder what can a single person can hold on to when cut off from the world, isolated in the vast ocean for weeks on end? How do they keep hope alive amid such harsh conditions and almost next to impossible survival resources when stranded by the sea?
Indonesian Teenager who survived 49 Days adrift at sea
Aldi Novel Adilang, an 18-year-old from Sulawesi, Indonesia, survived 49 days adrift in the sea after the moorings of his fishing hut broke loose during a storm. Aldi was working on a “rompong”, a floating fish trap shaped like a hut, anchored offshore about 125 kilometers from the Indonesian coast. His job was to light lamps on the rompong to attract fish. The trap itself has no engine or paddles and is tethered to the seabed by ropes.The ordeal began when strong winds caused the ropes anchoring the rompong to snap, setting Aldi adrift in the middle of the ocean with only limited supplies. Left to fend for himself, he survived by catching fish and cooking them using wood from the rompong’s wooden fences. He was carried by powerful currents, and drifted more than 1,200 miles (1,930 km) across the Pacific Ocean toward Guam.
How did he manage to survive for so many days
According to a New York Times report, he filtered seawater through his T-shirt to drink, and used wood from the hut to cook and signal passing ships. Apart from that, Aldi’s mental struggles were also evident. According to Fajar Firdaus, an Indonesian diplomat in Osaka, Japan, who spoke to The Jakarta Post, “[He] said he had been scared and often cried while adrift.” Despite his fear, Aldi held onto hope every time he saw a passing ship. “Every time he saw a large ship, he said, he was hopeful, but more than 10 ships had sailed past him. None of them stopped or saw [him].”His family only learned of his disappearance after his boss informed his father. His mother, Net Kahiking, shared with AFP how they coped with the uncertainty: “So we just surrendered to God and kept praying hard.”
Teen survives for 49 days after being adrift at sea (Photo: @Morbidful/X)
Rescued after nearly 50 days
After nearly seven weeks at sea, Aldi was finally rescued near Guam by the Panamanian cargo ship. He never lost hope and on the 49th day, he successfully made radio contact with the MV Arpeggio, a Panamanian-flagged tanker. Battling rough seas, he swam through huge and high rising waves to reach the ship, which then rescued him. The ship’s captain contacted Guam’s coast guard, who instructed the crew to take Aldi to Japan, the vessel’s next port of call.Aldi arrived in Japan and was granted permission to enter “due to disaster,” according to a statement from the Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka’s Facebook page. Two days later, he flew back to Indonesia and reunited with his family, in good health.
