Emily Brown
A whale-watcher has described what he went through after he found himself stranded at sea for 67 days with the bodies of his nephew and brother.
It was August when Mikhail Pichugin set out with his 15-year-old nephew, Ilya, and 49-year-old brother, Sergei, to go whale-watching near the remote Shantar Islands in Russia.
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As they made their way back towards shore, their motor stopped working when they still had 37 miles to go.
The family members attempted to row back to shore, but their oar broke and leaving them stranded on the inflatable dinghy.
With no one around to help them, Ilya sadly succumbed to starvation as the boat continued to float through the water. Just 10 days later, a heartbroken and distressed Sergei also passed away.
Mikhail was left alone with the bodies of his family members until, 67 days after the group had left home, he was eventually picked up by a Russian fishing trawler named Angel.
Mikhail, 45, is now recovering in hospital in Russian city Magadan, and he's now spoken out about how he managed to survive for so long.
Some local reports have accredited Mikhail's survival to his weight, which was 100kg when he set out on the shore.
Mikhail sought to keep himself warm and hydrated while out at sea by collecting and drinking rainwater, and using a camel wool sleeping bag to keep himself warm on cold nights.
He explained: “I also had a ‘Mongol’ sleeping bag with camel hair. But it's kind of wet, it doesn't dry out.
“You get under it, you fidget a little, you get warm….I just didn't have a choice."
As for the main reasons he was able to keep going, Mikhail added: “My mom stayed home, my daughter stayed home.”
When asked if that was the 'main incentive' for him to keep going, Mikhail responded: “Yes.”
As well as the thoughts of his mother and daughter, Mikhail also credited God with helping him to endure his ordeal.
“With God's help, how else? If it was the Angel ship that saved me," he said.
After Ilya and Sergei passed away, Mikhail tied the bodies of his relatives to the boat so they would not fall overboard.
Now that he's been rescued, he just hopes to go home and bury his nephew and brother.
Now Mikhail is back on dry land, he may not be completely out of the woods yet as he's at risk of facing prosecution by flouting Russian maritime safety laws.
The Shot Telegram channel reported: “He could face up to seven years in prison."
However, local officials are hopeful they will be able to help Mikhail by providing him with tickets to get home to Buryatia region in Siberia.