A Chinese woman who had been swept out to sea while swimming at a Japanese beach experienced a miraculous rescue 37 hours later, having drifted more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) in the Pacific Ocean on an inflatable swim ring.
The incident began when Japan's coast guard received a distress call on Monday night, July 8, reporting that the woman in her twenties had vanished while swimming near Shimoda, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Tokyo. It was suspected that strong currents and offshore winds had carried her out into open waters, compounded by the challenge of navigating with the swim ring.
After an exhaustive search, the woman was spotted by a cargo ship early Wednesday, July 10, off the southern tip of Boso Peninsula. The ship, Kakuwa Maru No. 8, immediately assisted in the rescue operation. Two crew members bravely jumped into the sea, secured the woman with a rope, and hoisted her aboard despite the challenging conditions of 2-meter (6.5 feet) waves.
Reflecting on the dramatic rescue, crew members recounted urging the exhausted woman not to give up as they pulled her to safety. Although she was slightly dehydrated, she was otherwise in good health and was airlifted to land by a Coast Guard helicopter for medical examination at a nearby hospital.
Authorities emphasized the woman's remarkable fortune in surviving such perilous conditions, including the risks of heat stroke, hypothermia during the night, and potential collision with passing ships in the darkness of the Pacific. Experts, including Hidetoshi Saito of the Society of Water Rescue and Survival Research, described her survival as nothing short of miraculous given the circumstances.
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