Drifted off while bathing Coast guard rescues Chinese woman 80 kilometers off the coast of Japan

A Chinese woman is swept out to sea by a current while bathing with her swimming ring. 36 hours later, the crew of a tanker rescued the 21-year-old 80 kilometers from the coast.

A 21-year-old Chinese woman was bathing in the sea at half past seven in the evening on July 8. A current pulls her out to sea with her swimming ring. Her companion raised the alarm 25 minutes later in the nearest kiosk. A search operation began immediately.

The emergency services search for her without success.

It was not until 36 hours later, shortly before eight o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, that the crew of a cargo ship discovered the woman with the swimming ring, writes the Guardian. She was floating in the sea near the southern tip of the Chiba peninsula.

She is 80 kilometers in a straight line from the beach where she entered the water. Since it did not drift out to sea in a straight line, it must have traveled an even greater distance. She must also have passed the island of Oshima.

Clear-headed and not dangerously dehydrated

Two crew members from a smaller tanker, which was also nearby, finally jumped into the water and pulled the woman on board. The coastguard picks her up from the ship by helicopter and flies her ashore.

She was unable to swim back to shore when she drifted off with the swimming ring, the Guardian quotes the rescued woman as saying. It is possible that the buoyancy ring, which makes it impossible to swim efficiently and provides a large surface for the current and wind to attack, was one of the reasons why the young woman was pulled so far out to sea. In all probability, however, the ring also saved her life.

The coastguard took her to hospital after an examination. She was released after an examination. She had a clear head and her dehydration was not life-threatening.