Man, 23, Rescued After Spending 2 Nights Adrift at Sea on Jet Ski Near Spain
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NEED TO KNOW
- A man spent two nights adrift at sea after his jet ski broke down in the ocean
- The 23-year-old was riding the vehicle off the coast of the Canary Islands in Spain on Sept. 29 when the incident occurred
- He was ultimately located by rescue workers about 11 miles off the coast
A Spanish man was rescued after spending two nights lost at sea on a jet ski off the coast of the Canary Islands in Spain.
Layonel Ramírez Collado, 23, was on an evening boat trip with friends on Monday, Sept. 29, when things went awry, per local news outlets El País and Canarias 7, as well as The Sun.
Layonel became separated from the boat when he went to retrieve a jet ski that had come loose from the vessel. He planned to drive the jet ski back to shore, but the vehicle broke down en route, and he was swept out to sea by strong winds and currents, per the outlets.
The man’s friends alerted authorities that he was missing at approximately 11 p.m. local time that night, per El País and The Sun.
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After almost 48 hours of searching by multiple local rescue agencies, Layonel was located alive on the jet ski about 11 miles off the coast by a Sasemar Maritime Rescue aircraft on Wednesday, Oct. 1, according to El País and Canarias 7. Although he was dehydrated and had some body aches, he was otherwise unharmed, according to the outlets.
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Layonel’s mother, Natividad Collado was there to greet her son when he arrived back on shore. She was joined by several friends and family members.
“This has been my worst nightmare,” she said while speaking to Canarias 7.
Layonel’s grandfather, José Collado, told the outlet that his grandson was somehow in good spirits despite the harrowing ordeal.
“He told us his back hurts, but he’s fine. He even encouraged us,” José said. “We’re super happy.”
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“Anyone who knows him knows that he’s a warrior, a fighter,” a friend of Layonel’s told Canarias 7.
PEOPLE reached out to the Sasemar Maritime Rescue for comment on Saturday, Oct. 4, but did not receive an immediate response.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
