A 62-year-old fisherman named Hamade survived days at sea by staying afloat atop a fish box after his boat sank in the Taka Encing sea, around 30 nautical miles from the Kotabaru regency coastline, in South Kalimantan.
A video of Hamade being rescued by fellow fishermen has gone viral on social media, attracting tens of thousands of views.
In the video, uploaded to Instagram on Sept 26 by @info_tetangga , the fisherman looked weary as his rescuers asked him how he ended up at the situation.
“Are you alone? Where are you from?” the fishermen who rescued Hamade asked. Some rescuers were also heard expressing concern for the old fisherman.
Hamade, a resident of Hilir Muara village, Pulau Laut Sigam district of Kotabaru regency, South Kalimantan, said he had been stranded at sea for five days, after his boat sank around 7:30 p.m.
Ever since, he had stayed in the perforated floating fish box until the group of passing fishermen spotted him. He was rescued in the Taka Bendera sea, in Tanah Grogot district of East Kalimantan.
The rescuers asked the fatigued Hamade to board their boat and offered him food.
“Get into the boat and have some food,” they said.
According to the information provided by @info_tetangga, Hamade was taken to Samboja district in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan, where his relatives live.
Many netizens shared their sympathy and appreciation toward Hamade and the fishermen.
“As a sailor myself, I am sympathetic. May God always give sustenance to the fisherman and his rescuers,” Instagram user @yudirestu07 commented.
This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.