Members of the crew of the crab catcher "Angel" have been awarded for rescuing Mikhail Pichugin, who drifted for over two months in the Sea of Okhotsk. This was reported on the official website of the territorial administration of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.
“Rosrybolovstvo recognized the vigilance and courage of the crew of the crab fishing vessel 'Angel,' which discovered a drifting catamaran with a person on board in the Sea of Okhotsk. The fishermen were the first to notice the boat and came to the rescue,” the statement reads.
According to the agency, the ship's crew changed their course to bring the rescued Pichugin to the port of Magadan. A total of 20 individuals were honored for saving the fisherman's life.
On August 9, Mikhail Pichugin, along with his brother and nephew, set off on a boat from Cape Perovsky towards the city of Okha across the Sakhalin Gulf. Soon after, they lost communication, and they never arrived at the designated location. The search operation lasted over a month, but the missing persons could not be found.
The boat was discovered on October 14 near the coast of Kamchatka in the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. It was spotted by fishermen. Only Pichugin managed to survive, having lost 50 kg during his drift.
The traveler who survived in the Sea of Okhotsk has since returned to Buryatia.