Teenager Survived 49 Days At Sea With No Food Or Water After Drifting 1,200 Miles Away From Shore

A teen who drifted 1,200 miles from shore for 49 days without food or water was able to survive.

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Aldi Novel Adiling was working in his rompong, or fishing shack, back in July 2018.

His cabin was tied to the bottom of the sea with ropes, but they suddenly broke, sending him floating away.

Aldi had already traveled about 77 miles from Sulawesi Island in Indonesia when his anchoring failed, causing him to drift even more.

There was nothing he could do but wait because his rompong had no safety or navigational devices and no way to steer.

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After a week, the teen's meager food supply of rice, spices, and clean water ran out, so Aldi had to catch fish to eat uncooked or try to cook it by setting some of the fences in his home on fire.

Nevertheless, getting adequate clean water was his biggest problem.

Without a proper filter, Aldi, who was 19 at the time, drank seawater through a wet T-shirt to assist in lowering the amount of salt in it.

Ten ships passed him by during his 49-day disappearance at sea, but none of them took note of him.

Up until August 31 when he was discovered by a coal-carrying vessel.

Aldi shouted out for help on his small radio, unaware that he had drifted 1,200 miles to the waters of Gaum in the Pacific.

Fortunately, the crew of the Panamanian ship spotted the lost youngster and brought him aboard, giving him a fresh set of clothes and some water to drink.

The dramatic moment Aldi was saved was caught on camera, as the worn-out kid was seen ascending a rope ladder attached to the side of the boat after throwing himself into the sea to grab it.

He was carefully carried onto the deck by the crew, who then covered him in blankets.

The week before they arrived in Japan, he remained with them. He then took a flight back to Indonesia two days later to be with his family.

Amazingly, Aldi revealed to the BBC that he had survived getting stuck at sea before the event in July 2018.

He had really experienced it twice previously but in far shorter durations.

"The first [time], I was afloat for a week and helped by the owner of the raft,” he said.

“The second time, I was afloat for two days and also received help from the owner of the raft."

Aldi's responsibility had been to turn on the fish-attracting lighting in the rompong.

Fresh food, gasoline, and water supplies would be delivered to him every week, and someone would come get the fish he had caught.

He agreed to a one-year deal and received $134 ($101 monthly) for it.

But declared that he would not be going back to work because the most recent incident had made him give up sailing.

People who were commenting on the spectacular rescue praised the courageous teen.

One social media user said: “Even if I had the survival skills, I would have gone crazy being alone, on that raft, in the middle of the ocean, for that long!”

Another wrote: “Think of all of those horrifying nights alone in the ocean he had to endure. Just every single moment living in anxiety, uncertainty, and fear. I can’t even imagine. He’s amazing.”