An adventurer who tried to row on the United States Pacific Ocean to Australia was rescued a few days before reaching his final destination.
The Lithuanian rower Aimas Mockus sounded a distress signal late Friday after being blocked by a cyclone, and surrounded by imposing waves and strong winds exciting up to 100 km / h (62 MPH).
The authorities established radio contact with Mr. Mockus the next day when it was about 740 km east of Mackay, a city on the east coast of Australia in the Coral Sea.
As he was rescued on Monday morning, the 44 -year -old had spent almost five months alone at sea.
Mr. Mockus receives medical treatment on an Australian warship, which will take him to Sydney, said the navy.
He was trying to become one of the rare rowers who crossed the Pacific alone and without stopping.
Among them, the British Peter Bird and John Beeden, who obtained the feat in 1983 and 2015 respectively, and Australia Michelle Lee in 2023.
Mr. Mockus started his trip 12,000 km long in October from San Diego in southern California. Brisbane was supposed to be his destination.
He rowed for an average of 12 hours a day, according to local reports.
He regularly updated his progress on Instagram. In the last article published one day before he calls for help, Mr. Mockus reported that he had crossed the Chesterfield Islands, a group of French coral islands about 1,500 km east of Australia.
“The highest point is that I successfully sailed the reefs of the Chesterfield Islands. And as God allows … The most important thing is to remember the next few days,” he wrote.
The tropical cyclone Alfred, which has derailed Mr. Mockus’s plan, is expected to strike the Australian Eastern States of Queensland and New South Wales in the coming days.
