A Chinese woman was reportedly rescued Wednesday near the southern tip of Japan’s Boso Peninsula 37 hours after going missing and around 50 miles from the Shizuoka Prefecture where she was originally floating in an inflatable.
The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) was alerted after the woman’s friend called the authorities, The Associated Press (AP) reported. They reportedly identified the woman as a Chinese national in her 20s.
Woman swept to sea while swimming at a Japanese beach is rescued 37 hours later and 50 miles away https://t.co/hOrWvGCXS6
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 11, 2024
The woman was presumably pushed out by the sea’s current and the wind from the surrounding mountains, experts stated, according to the AP. The inflatable tube is also suspected to have made it difficult for her to get back to shore because of the wind pushing against her, ABC News reported. (RELATED: Man Dies After Leaping Off World’s Largest Cruise Ship: REPORT)
She later affirmed that the inflatable tube made it unable for her to swim back after being swept out, according to the BBC.
The missing woman was discovered by a passing cargo ship Wednesday morning, roughly 36 hours after being swept off, the AP reported. The vessel reportedly alerted a nearby LPG tanker, the Kakuwa Maru No. 8, requesting aid. Two crew members from the tanker took action, leaping into the sea to save the woman, according to officials, the outlet reported. Their rescue was reportedly successful and she was soon airlifted to Japan by a JCG helicopter.
There was a straight line roughly 50 miles from the beach she was swimming at to the location she was rescued, but it is assumed she drifted even farther, a JCG official told Agence France-Presse, the BBC reported.
The woman was very fortunate to have not suffered from heat or hypothermia, the JCG said, according to the AP. She is also reportedly lucky she did not get hit by a ship. The only ailment reported by officials was that she was slightly dehydrated, the outlet reported. She reportedly walked from the hospital following her examination.
