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Officials wary of Pacific castaway's story of 13-month survival Pacific castaway recounts his 13-month odyssey
(about 3 hours later)
It's a story that almost defies belief: a man leaves Mexico in December 2012 for a day of shark fishing and ends up surviving for 13 months on fish, birds and turtles before washing ashore on the remote Marshall Islands some 5,500 miles (8,800km) away. A man who says he spent more than a year adrift in the Pacific ocean after a shark-fishing day-trip went disastrously wrong, has described his ordeal for the first time, saying that he considered suicide after his 15-year-old shipmate died.
But that's the story a man identifying himself as 37-year-old José Salvador Alvarenga told the US ambassador in the Marshall Islands and the nation's officials during a 30-minute meeting on Monday before he was taken to a hospital for monitoring. The man, named as 37-year-old Jose Salvador Alvarenga, said he set out from Mexico in his 23ft (7-metre) fibreglass boat for a day's fishing on 21 December 2012 with a youth named Ezekiel, but was blown off course by a storm.
Alvarenga washed ashore on the tiny Ebon atoll in the Pacific Ocean last week before being taken to the capital, Majuro, on Monday. Thirteen months later he was washed ashore on the Ebon atoll, part of the Marshall Islands, having drifted 5,500 miles across the Pacific. "I didn't know the hour, nor the day, nor the date," he told the Telegraph at a hospital in Majaro, the capital of the Marshall Islands.
"It's hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea," said ambassador Tom Armbruster in Majuro. "But it's also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue. Certainly this guy has had an ordeal, and has been at sea for some time." "I only knew the sun and the night … I never saw land. Pure ocean, pure ocean.It was very placid – only two days with big waves," he said.
Other officials were reacting cautiously to the Spanish-speaking man's story while they tried to gather more information. If true, the man's ordeal would rank among the greatest tales ever of survival at sea. Alvarenga told the Telegraph he wanted to take his own life when Ezekiel died four months into the voyage after refusing to eat. "For four days I wanted to kill myself. But I couldn't feel the desire – I didn't want to feel the pain. I couldn't do it.
Armbruster said the softly spoken man complained of joint pain on Monday and had a limp but was able to walk. He had long hair and a beard, the ambassador said, and rather than appearing emaciated he looked puffy in places, including around his ankles. Otherwise, Alvarenga seemed in reasonable health. "I had my mind on God. If I was going to die, I would be with God. So I wasn't scared ... I imagine this is an incredible story for people."
Armbruster, who speaks Spanish, said the survivor told officials he was from El Salvador but had lived in Mexico for 15 years and fished for a man he knows as Willie, catching sharks for 25 pesos (£1.15) per pound. Alvarenga has said that he survived by catching seabirds and fish, and drinking turtle blood, rainwater – and at times his own urine.
On 21 December 2012, Alvarenga left Mexico in his seven-metre (23ft) fibreglass boat for a day's fishing, accompanied by a teenager he knew only as Ezekiel, who was between 15 and 18. A storm blew the fishermen off course, and soon they were lost and adrift. Officials on the Marshall Islands have reacted cautiously to Alvarenga's story, which contains several discrepancies - possibly because there were no Spanish speakers on Ebon when he first arrived.
"He talked about scooping up little fish that swam alongside the boat and eating them raw," Armbruster said. "He also said he ate birds, and drank birds' blood." He also talked about eating turtles. Speaking to the Telegraph, Alvarenga – who said he was originally from El Salvador - described his relief on sighting land.
After about a month, Ezekiel died, the survivor told officials. "I had just killed a bird to eat and saw some trees. I cried, 'Oh God'," he said.
Once near Ebon, he swam ashore. "I got to land and had a mountain of sleep. In the morning I woke up and heard a rooster and saw chickens and saw a small house. I saw two native women screaming and yelling. I didn't have any clothes – I was only in my underwear and they were ripped and torn."
Alvarenga was taken to the capital, Majuro, on Monday, where he had a short meeting with the US ambassador and other officials before being taken to a local hospital.
"It's hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea," said Ambassador Tom Armbruster in Majuro. "But it's also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue. Certainly this guy has had an ordeal, and has been at sea for some time."
Armbruster said the soft-spoken man seemed in reasonable health, and, rather than appearing emaciated, he looked puffy in places, including around his ankles. The ambassador said Alvarenga complained of pains in his joints and had a limp but was able to walk.
Armbruster, who speaks Spanish, said Alvarenga had lived in Mexico for 15 years and worked as a fisherman.
"He talked about scooping up little fish that swam alongside the boat and eating them raw. He also said he ate birds, and drank birds' blood," he said.
"He thanked God, initially, that he had survived," the ambassador said. "He's very anxious to get back in touch with his employer, and also with the family of Ezekiel. That's his driving motivation at the moment.""He thanked God, initially, that he had survived," the ambassador said. "He's very anxious to get back in touch with his employer, and also with the family of Ezekiel. That's his driving motivation at the moment."
Armbruster said the man told officials he had no family in Mexico but he had three brothers who live in the US, although he could not immediately provide contact details. However, Gee Bing, the acting secretary of foreign affairs for the Marshall Islands, said he was somewhat sceptical of Alvarenga's account after meeting him.
Gee Bing, the acting secretary of foreign affairs for the Marshall Islands, said he was somewhat sceptical of Alvarenga's account after meeting him on Monday.
"It does sound like an incredible story and I'm not sure if I believe his story," Bing said. "When we saw him, he was not really thin compared to other survivors in the past. I may have some doubts. Once we start communicating with where he's from, we'll be able to find out more information.""It does sound like an incredible story and I'm not sure if I believe his story," Bing said. "When we saw him, he was not really thin compared to other survivors in the past. I may have some doubts. Once we start communicating with where he's from, we'll be able to find out more information."
Bing said the man had no identification with him and other details of his story remained sketchy, including the exact location of his departure from Mexico.Bing said the man had no identification with him and other details of his story remained sketchy, including the exact location of his departure from Mexico.
The survivor's vital signs appeared to be good, though his blood pressure was a bit low, Bing said. The man's health appeared to be good, but his blood pressure was a bit low, Bing said. After doctors give him the all-clear officials hope to repatriate him to Mexico - or whichever country is appropriate.
After doctors give him the all-clear, officials hope to repatriate him to Mexico or whichever country is appropriate. Bing said the Mexican ambassador in the Philippines, Julio Camarena, had been involved in the case. He could not be contacted immediately. Jack Niedenthal, a film-maker based on Majuro said: "He got off the boat with a very bushy beard."
"He's having trouble walking, his legs are very skinny. I'm not ready to call this a hoax, I think this guy has done some serious time at sea," Niedenthal told Reuters after speaking briefly to Alvarenga through an interpreter.
Erik van Sebille, a Sydney-based oceanographer at the University of New South Wales, said there was a good chance that a boat drifting off Mexico's west coast would eventually be carried by currents to the Marshall Islands. He said such a journey would typically take 18 months to two years depending on the winds and currents, although 13 months was possible.Erik van Sebille, a Sydney-based oceanographer at the University of New South Wales, said there was a good chance that a boat drifting off Mexico's west coast would eventually be carried by currents to the Marshall Islands. He said such a journey would typically take 18 months to two years depending on the winds and currents, although 13 months was possible.
"The way that the currents in the Pacific work is that there is a very strong westerly current just north of the equator and that basically drives you directly from Mexico all the way toward Indonesia and in the path, you go right over the Marshall Islands," he said."The way that the currents in the Pacific work is that there is a very strong westerly current just north of the equator and that basically drives you directly from Mexico all the way toward Indonesia and in the path, you go right over the Marshall Islands," he said.
There have been other cases of people surviving for months adrift in the Pacific. In a similar incident, three Mexican shark fishermen said they were lost at sea for nine months before being rescued near the Marshall Islands in 2006. In 1989, four men survived nearly four months in the Pacific Ocean near New Zealand after their multi-hulled boat capsized.