Fat face man lost for 13 months at sea?

[Time]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/world/...html?hpt=hp_c2


CNN) -- A mysterious castaway claiming to have been lost at sea for 13 months is now safely back on land, but many questions remain about how he could have lived on his small boat for so long as it drifted across the Pacific Ocean.

The man calling himself Jose Salvador Alvarenga turned up in a heavily damaged boat on a remote coral atoll in the Marshall Islands, claiming that he had been living off fish and turtles he had caught and relying on rainwater, and sometimes his own urine, to drink.

Authorities are trying to determine the veracity of Alvarenga's story. The Mexican government issued a statement Monday confirming Alvarenga's identity and saying he was an El Salvador national who was living in Tonala in Chiapas state.



Map: Drifter found in Pacific


Map: Drifter found in PacificMap: Drifter found in Pacific

He was found on sparsely populated Ebon Atoll, a 22-hour boat ride from the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro, on Thursday. The southernmost of the Marshall Islands' atolls, Ebon has only 2.2 square miles of land, one phone line and no Internet service. The government airplane that services the atoll was not working, so Alvarenga did not make it to Majuro until Monday morning.

Video from Majuro shows Alvarenga walking a gangplank from a government boat to a waiting ambulance. Waving to those gathered around the dock, he is supported by a medical assistant as he walks. From inside the ambulance, he gives a thumbs up before it drives away.

Alvarenga, who says he is 37, is now in a local hospital recovering from his ordeal, said Tom Armbruster, U.S. ambassador to the Marshall Islands.

"He's in much better shape than one would expect after such an ordeal," Armbruster said.

In a hospital-bed interview with The Telegraph of London, Alvarenga told of how he hit land.

"I had just killed a bird to eat and saw some trees," he is quoted as saying.

"I cried, 'Oh, God.' 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," The Telegraph quotes Alvarenga as saying.

Teen survives 26 days adrift

People on the island where he was found Thursday say the 26-foot fiberglass boat was in very bad condition, covered in barnacles and with the carcasses of several turtles littering the deck.

Alvarenga claims to have set off from a port near the southwestern Mexican city of Tapachula, about 140 miles south of where the Mexican government says he is from and near the border with Guatemala, for what was supposed to be a one-day expedition to catch sharks on December 21, 2012.

He claimed that he and a teenage companion were blown off-course by northerly winds and then caught in a storm, eventually losing use of their engines.

How to survive being stranded at sea

According to Anjenette Kattil of the Marshall Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alvarenga said that four weeks into their drift, he lost the young man because he refused to eat raw birds. There are no details on what Alvarenga did with the young man's body.

Alvarenga told the Telegraph his companion's death had him contemplating suicide.

"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," he is quoted as saying.

Kattil said Alvarenga worked for a company named Camaroneras de la Costa in Mexico. He has told authorities that he is a citizen of El Salvador but has lived in Mexico for the past 15 years and wishes to be repatriated back to Mexico.

Armbruster, the U.S. ambassador, said Alvarenga indicated that he had relatives living the United States and U.S. officials would attempt to locate them.

Massive tuna drags fisherman into ocean

Government officials have been in contact with Mexico's ambassador to the Marshall Islands, who is based in the Philippines, concerning Alvarenga in hopes he can contact El Salvadoran authorities.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying it has sent personnel from its embassy in the Philippines "to learn directly about the case."

If Alvarenga's story proves true, the trip across the Pacific would have taken him across roughly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) of open ocean before ending in the Marshall Islands, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, in the northern Pacific.

Such an amazing journey isn't unheard-of in the small Pacific nation, as three Mexican fishermen made a similar drift voyage in 2006 that lasted nine months. Those men lived off fish they caught and rainwater, and they read the Bible for comfort.

Conditions in the Pacific make the timeline of Alvarenga's journey plausible, according to Judson Jones, a producer for CNN Weather.

Jones said the currents between Mexico and the Marshall Islands would have carried a boat about 27 miles (42 kilometers) a day. That would mean the journey would take about 208 days if the boat stayed in the current. But Jones said a meandering journey in and out of the currents was most likely, making a 13-month journey believable.

[Hortical]

The guy is a fake and looks too healthy.
Man lost in Andes for four months found alive

[Time]

The guy is a fake and looks too healthy.
Man lost in Andes for four months found alive

They posted before and after photos. Looks Like I will have to give him the benefit of the doubt. He looks like he aged 20 years during the trip.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ting-trip.html

[Hortical]

Yeah hard life ages people.

[Gamma]

This one is very suspicious... He left with a teen...what is the relationship with this "teen"?

[Mosiah]

They said he was fat, right? Was this teen one of his meals?

[Islandman]

Something just don't seem right.

[Gamma]

a dat mi a seh ...... di maths nah add up.

[Time]

a dat mi a seh ...... di maths nah add up.

The mother of the teenager is asking questions. I am think that he ate the teenager.

[Za]

Castaway's health takes turn for the worse, Mexican official

Majuro, Marshall Islands (CNN) -- After showing signs of improvement, Jose Salvador Alvarenga's health has deteriorated.
Alvarenga, who said he was lost at sea for 13 months, returned to a hospital Thursday to be intravenously fed, said Christian Clay-Mendoza, a top Mexican trade official.
"Doctors say he's severely dehydrated and low on vitamins and minerals," he said.
Alvarenga, an El Salvadoran who had been living in Mexico, washed ashore on the Marshall Islands eight days ago. Earlier this week, his condition improved enough that he was released from a hospital.
Mother of other castaway demands answers Some cast doubt on castaway's story Parents of castaway speak out Castaway: I tried to kill myself
Doctors said Alvarenga's limbs have started to swell, and they can't seem to keep him hydrated.
But he did manage to leave the hospital briefly Thursday to make a few comments to the media.
Bewildered by all the cameras, he thanked the government and people of the Marshall Islands for their care and friendship. After his minute-long remark, officials whisked him back to the hospital.
Plans for his repatriation to El Salvador on Friday have now been postponed due to his health.
Official: His story 'is probable'
Alvarenga's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive for 13 months adrift on the Pacific. But from what officials can tell, they have no reason to doubt him.
"The investigations into Mr. Alvarenga's story so far have been substantiated," said Phillip Muller, the Marshall Islands' foreign affairs minister.
Clay-Mendoza said Alvarenga was an undocumented worker in Mexico. But "what he has said to us about his identity, so far, has been true."
"We've had contact with his family in El Salvador, and they have corroborated his story," the Mexican official said. "Now we are trying to contact his boss at the fishing co-op he belonged to in Mexico, but so far everything he's told us has jibed. The main question now is how long was he at sea?"
Clay-Mendoza said "it's probable" Alvarenga really did get lost at sea starting in December 2012. He said the boat was reported missing in 2012.
If Alvarenga's story proves true, the trip across the Pacific would have taken him across roughly 6,600 miles (10,800 kilometers) of open ocean before ending in the Marshall Islands, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, in the northern Pacific.
Officials: 'We gave up' trying to figure out how long castaway was adrift in Pacific
The other man
Alvarenga says he set off on a fishing trip from the port of Paredon Viejo, Mexico, near the southern coastal city of Tonala.
He said he and another man intended to spend a day trying to catch sharks, but they were blown off course by winds and then got caught in a storm, eventually losing use of their engines.
Bellarmino Rodriguez Beyz, the owner of Alvarenga's boat in Mexico, identified the fishing partner as 23-year-old Ezequiel Córdova.
Alvarenga said that four weeks into their drift, his companion died of starvation because he refused to eat raw birds and turtles. Eventually, he threw the body overboard.
"What else could I do?" Alvarenga said.
Living on faith and fish
A grieving family
Back in the Mexican village of El Fortin, Córdova's family is inconsolable. More than a year after the young man went missing, his mother is grieving his death.
"The pain is so great, I can't explain it," Córdova's mother said. "Losing a child is the hardest thing to bear in life."
Córdova's brother said the 23-year-old took care of his family -- and that's why he became a fisherman, in hopes of earning a better livelihood.
"My brother was kind, he was responsible for my mother," he said. "In fact, he worked in the sea because of her. He wanted to improve himself. He didn't want to be poor, like us."
The fishing cooperative that Córdova and Alvarenga belonged to has about 45 boats, Rodriguez said. The fishermen make about $150 a week.
But the waters near Paredon Viejo are notorious for the dangerous winds that can blow fishermen away.
Now that Córdova's mother knows her son is dead, she wants answers.
"As a mother, I demand the authorities allow me to talk to the survivor," she said. "Only in that way will I know what happened, and what he did with the body of my son. I deserve to know the truth. "
Meanwhile, Córdova's bedroom, scant with just a blanket as a headboard, remains untouched.
Just the way he left it more than a year ago.

[HL]

An intriguing story. Would make an excellent movie about survival.

I will wait for all the facts before drawing any conclusion:

[Time]

Majuro, Marshall Islands (CNN) -- After showing signs of improvement, Jose Salvador Alvarenga's health has deteriorated.
Alvarenga, who said he was lost at sea for 13 months, returned to a hospital Thursday to be intravenously fed, said Christian Clay-Mendoza, a top Mexican trade official.
"Doctors say he's severely dehydrated and low on vitamins and minerals," he said.
Alvarenga, an El Salvadoran who had been living in Mexico, washed ashore on the Marshall Islands eight days ago. Earlier this week, his condition improved enough that he was released from a hospital.
Mother of other castaway demands answers Some cast doubt on castaway's story Parents of castaway speak out Castaway: I tried to kill myself
Doctors said Alvarenga's limbs have started to swell, and they can't seem to keep him hydrated.
But he did manage to leave the hospital briefly Thursday to make a few comments to the media.
Bewildered by all the cameras, he thanked the government and people of the Marshall Islands for their care and friendship. After his minute-long remark, officials whisked him back to the hospital.
Plans for his repatriation to El Salvador on Friday have now been postponed due to his health.
Official: His story 'is probable'
Alvarenga's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive for 13 months adrift on the Pacific. But from what officials can tell, they have no reason to doubt him.
"The investigations into Mr. Alvarenga's story so far have been substantiated," said Phillip Muller, the Marshall Islands' foreign affairs minister.
Clay-Mendoza said Alvarenga was an undocumented worker in Mexico. But "what he has said to us about his identity, so far, has been true."
"We've had contact with his family in El Salvador, and they have corroborated his story," the Mexican official said. "Now we are trying to contact his boss at the fishing co-op he belonged to in Mexico, but so far everything he's told us has jibed. The main question now is how long was he at sea?"
Clay-Mendoza said "it's probable" Alvarenga really did get lost at sea starting in December 2012. He said the boat was reported missing in 2012.
If Alvarenga's story proves true, the trip across the Pacific would have taken him across roughly 6,600 miles (10,800 kilometers) of open ocean before ending in the Marshall Islands, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, in the northern Pacific.
Officials: 'We gave up' trying to figure out how long castaway was adrift in Pacific
The other man
Alvarenga says he set off on a fishing trip from the port of Paredon Viejo, Mexico, near the southern coastal city of Tonala.
He said he and another man intended to spend a day trying to catch sharks, but they were blown off course by winds and then got caught in a storm, eventually losing use of their engines.
Bellarmino Rodriguez Beyz, the owner of Alvarenga's boat in Mexico, identified the fishing partner as 23-year-old Ezequiel Córdova.
Alvarenga said that four weeks into their drift, his companion died of starvation because he refused to eat raw birds and turtles. Eventually, he threw the body overboard.
"What else could I do?" Alvarenga said.
Living on faith and fish
A grieving family
Back in the Mexican village of El Fortin, Córdova's family is inconsolable. More than a year after the young man went missing, his mother is grieving his death.
"The pain is so great, I can't explain it," Córdova's mother said. "Losing a child is the hardest thing to bear in life."
Córdova's brother said the 23-year-old took care of his family -- and that's why he became a fisherman, in hopes of earning a better livelihood.
"My brother was kind, he was responsible for my mother," he said. "In fact, he worked in the sea because of her. He wanted to improve himself. He didn't want to be poor, like us."
The fishing cooperative that Córdova and Alvarenga belonged to has about 45 boats, Rodriguez said. The fishermen make about $150 a week.
But the waters near Paredon Viejo are notorious for the dangerous winds that can blow fishermen away.
Now that Córdova's mother knows her son is dead, she wants answers.
"As a mother, I demand the authorities allow me to talk to the survivor," she said. "Only in that way will I know what happened, and what he did with the body of my son. I deserve to know the truth. "
Meanwhile, Córdova's bedroom, scant with just a blanket as a headboard, remains untouched.
Just the way he left it more than a year ago.

Same thing happened to Napoleon's Army when they reach food and water after weeks of starvation in the Russian Winter Wildness. You have to ingest very little at a time or it will kill you.

[Mosiah]

We have had at least two such movies about persons adrift in the open seas in the last 2 years or so. Not sure how much more exciting this one could be.

[Jangle]

If him fight off a JAWS and two octop ussies then it will be an exciting movie. Plus if him haffi eat the other guy then that could be a blockbuster.

[Mosiah]

What is the rating of the movie you have in mind? PG? R? XXX?