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Sailor survives 16 hours in FREEZING Atlantic Ocean after boat capsizes

The sailor was stuck in an air bubble inside the vessel that had turned upside down

A 62-year-old French sailor recently survived in the Atlantic Ocean for 16 hours after his boat capsized. The sailor used only an air bubble inside the vessel that had turned upside down. The boat was 40-foot long and was called the Jeanne SOLO Sailor. It had set its sail from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on Sunday morning, according to the tracking data.

The coast guard said that they received a distress signal from the boat at 11:23 pm (local time) on Monday. Soon a coast guard ship with five divers set out for the rescue mission. Three helicopters were also deployed for the search, one of which spotted the capsized boat. The sailor was finally rescued 14 miles from the Sisargas Islands off Spain's northwestern Galicia region. During the search, a diver was lifted onto the ship's hull to seek signs of life. The sailor, whose identity has not been confirmed, responded to the banging on the hull by knocking from inside. 

During the search, the sea was too rough and so the rescue team attached buoyancy balloons to the ship's hull to prevent it from sinking further and waited until the morning with the sailor still stuck underneath. Two of the divers acted quickly and swam under the boat to help the sailor. He was found wearing a neoprene survival suit and submerged in waters up to his knees.

Spain's Maritime Safety and Rescue Society said in a tweet, "Each life saved is our greatest reward." A member of the coast guard's special operations, Vicente Cobelo, told a local station that the sailor volunteered to jump into the freezing water and swam under the boat to reach the sea's surface. He said, "Of his own initiative, he got into the water and freedived out, helped by the divers who had to pull him through because it was difficult for him to get out in his suit." The sailor was eventually airlifted to safety and was taken to a hospital. However, he was discharged after a short time with a clean bill of health. 

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Spain's Maritime Safety shared a tweet along with footage of the rescue. The caption read, "This was the rescue carried out yesterday by Maritime Rescue to the crew member of the French sailboat JEANNE SOLO SAILOR that was keeled in the sun 14 miles NNW from the Sisargas Islands." 

People are stunned to learn that the sailor survived for so many hours in the water. A user wrote, "Awesome video! question: how can you stay inside the sailboat for a day? I have read that the boat has been drifting for 24 hours… and if it was keeled in the sun? How come the cabin doesn't flood? Sorry but I don't know the subject. congratulations to rescue!" Another user commented, "Thank you so much to all of you. This world is a better place for the work you do and the risks you take on a daily basis." A mariner thanked the divers and wrote, "As someone who makes there living at sea a massive thank you. You guys and girls do an incredible job putting yourselves in danger. We mariners salute you."