national

Man adrift at sea swims for nearly 40 kilometers before being found on beach

11 Comments

A 29-year-old man who disappeared Sunday afternoon while swimming off the coast of Shiofuki park in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, was found near a beach 40 kilometers away on Monday.

Coast guard personnel said Yusuke Nakashima was in good health after his ordeal. "We have never heard of anyone drifting nearly 40 kilometers at sea in the middle of the night, and then later ending up completely safe and unharmed," TBS reported.

According to the coast guard, a lifeguard spotted Nakashima in a no-swimming zone off the coast of Shirahama beach at around 10:20 a.m. Monday. The lifeguard, intending to warn the man to stay out of the no-swimming zone, was about to call out to him when Nakashima identified himself.

Nakashima collapsed after coming ashore and was taken to hospital where he was in a stable condition on Tuesday, TBS reported.

Nakashima said he had been swimming with three friends about 800 meters from the Ito coast at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday when he lost his bearings. His friends called for rescue personnel but Nakashima was long gone by the time they arrived.

A coast guard official told reporters: "Not knowing which direction he was going, he said he swam for hours preserving his strength by swimming with only his face above the water, using as little energy as possible."

Nakashima was wearing special thermal diving gear and a snorkel and fins when he was found.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

11 Comments
Login to comment

'At sea for 40km'?? Surely there is a more accurate title.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@serendipous. I thought so,too. Still kudos to the swimmer for keeping his wits about him and making it home safe.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Man, what a harrowing experience, but also what a story to tell! If you meet him in a bar buy the man a beer!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

seeing his face on tv made for a good laugh. his snorkel equipment only protected the area around his eyes so the rest of his face is a deep brown. but what an amazing story. glad he was able to keep his wits about him and not freak out.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The same thing happened to me, only not. I think I went just over 6 km. And I was totally freaked out. Funny thing, though. I never have nightmares about it. Only good dreams.

Hats off to Nakashima.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Glad he lived to tell the tale. I'd pay in beer or whatever he likes to hear a bit more.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If the dude had fins, I don't see how he couldn't have swum to shore.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They interviewed him on TV and he said he didn't swim, but just floated.

He followed the Japanese rule "Uitemate" which is becoming an international survival keyword. (= Float'n wait.)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good thing he had special thermal diving gear, otherwise the water would've likely killed him

1 ( +1 / -0 )

That's amazing! glad to hear the man is safe now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think ocean currents played a big roll in this. Fortunately he made it to land.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites