Da Nang Hospital on October 15 announced that it had saved the life of the man swept away by waves who was missing at sea.

While trying to remove a fishing hook stuck on a rocky embankment, the man slipped and went missing. Luckily, he was found when he washed ashore.

On October 16, while being treated at the Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department of Da Nang Hospital, D.H.H, 31, from Son Tra district said he was still stunned after "returning from the netherworld". 

He is an office worker in Da Nang. After working hours, he often goes fishing for relaxation, which he has been doing for 10 years. 

On October 13 evening, H and his two friends went fishing at the stone embankment at Thuan Phuoc Bridge in Hai  Chau district. At 9pm, after his friend left, H discovered that some bait was stuck to the rocks so he decided to wade into the water to remove it. But, unfortunately, he slipped and fell into the sea.

The man was wearing a backpack which drifted forward, leaving him behind. He quickly pulled it back and held it at his chest. The backpack contained plastic boxes of bait that were tightly sealed, so it was floating. This served as a lifebuoy that helped him survive.

“After drifting at sea for a while, I found a piece of foam floating around and quickly stuffed it into my shirt to increase my buoyancy. I also tried to hold my backpack tightly to avoid sinking,” Hung recalled.

Hung said he can swim, but at the moment of falling into water, it was dark and there was no boat nearby, so he did not know where the shore was.

He was conscious on the first night, and luckily, there was rain which provided fresh water.

But his situation became worse on the second night, when he lost all sensation in his limbs and he was attacked by hunger. However, he still made every effort to hold his backpack until he drifted to NguyenTat  Thanh shore and was discovered by locals at 5 am on October 15.

L.T.D, H’s fiancé, said she failed to call him on October 13 evening. At 4 am the next morning, she found his motorbike at the embankment and called the police. 

When people found H, they thought he was dead. Later, they realized that his finger could move, and gave artificial respiration, lit a fire to keep him warm, and then took him to the hospital.

Ho Giap