A fisherman who went missing at sea in Quezon last month was found alive off Batanes, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) says on Friday, September 20. 2024. Robin Dejillo, 49, was carried by strong currents and big waves 700 kilometers away and survived in the middle of the ocean for about six weeks by drinking rainwater and eating fish and coconut he found floating on the water. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A fisherman who went missing at sea in Quezon last month was found alive off Batanes, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Friday.
Robin Dejillo, 49, was carried by strong currents and big waves 700 kilometers away and survived in the middle of the ocean for about six weeks by drinking rainwater and eating fish and coconut he found floating on the water.
A resident of Purok Rosas, Barangay Dinahican, Infanta in Quezon province, Dejillo was reported missing since Aug. 4.
READ: Strong waves hamper search for missing fisherman in Misamis town
PCG substation personnel in Batanes found him aboard his fishing boat on waters near Basco town on Thursday, Sept. 19.
鈥淢r. Dejillo shared that he failed to return to their mother boat after his motorbanca ran out of gas while conducting a fishing venture,鈥� the PCG said in a statement.
鈥淗e survived for more than a month at sea by drinking rainwater and eating fish,鈥� PCG continued. 鈥淗e was also sustained by coconuts floating on water.鈥�
READ:
Dejillo鈥檚 fishing boat was towed to the Port of Basco.
The PCG said Dejillo, who was still in Basco as of writing, will be transported to his hometown soon.
鈥淭he Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog (CGDSTL) coordinated with the Coast Guard Aviation Command to deploy an aerial asset for Mr. Dejillo鈥檚 transport from Batanes to his hometown in Infanta, Quezon, after a thorough medical assessment,鈥� the CGDSTL said in another statement.