A Russian man survived more than two months drifting in icy seas on an inflatable boat in an ordeal that claimed the lives of his brother and teenaged nephew, officials and reports said.
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Mikhail Pichugin may have survived because of his portly 100kg (220 pounds) stature, according to his incredulous wife. Media reports said he weighed only 50kg when found on Monday.
The man, his brother and a 15-year-old set off for Sakhalin island from the far eastern Khabarovsk region on August 9 on an inflatable catamaran, transport prosecutors said.
The boat was discovered at about 10pm on Monday as it floated past a fishing boat in the Sea of Okhotsk, around 1,000km (670 miles) from its starting point and 66 days after it set off.
A video posted by prosecutors shows a bearded man in a life jacket shouting at the fishermen: “I don’t have much strength” but managing to catch a rope.
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