Kiribati fisherman: Shark ‘rescued’ me after 15 weeks lost at sea
A traditional Micronesian canoe sits on the shore as people cross a lagoon on an atoll of Tarawa in the central Pacific’s Kiribati.
A Kiribati fisherman lost at sea in the central Pacific for 15 weeks says he was "rescued" by the unlikeliest of creatures — a shark.
Toakai Teitoi, 41, and his brother-in-law became marooned on a 15-foot-long wooden boat for more than 100 days after running out of fuel May 28, Sky News reported.
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His brother-in-law succumbed to dehydration on July 4, according to the Bangkok Post. Tetoi told his rescuers he slept next to his brother-in-law's dead body that night "like at a funeral" and buried him at sea the next day.
The day Teitoi buried his brother-in-law, a big storm blew in and allowed him to fill two five-gallon containers with water, Agence France-Press reported.
On Sept. 11, he caught sight of a ship.
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But the crew could not see him so he dejectedly crawled into a shaded spot, as he had done many days, and fell asleep, according to AFP.
A 6-foot-long shark awoke him that afternoon, circling the boat and bumping up against the hull. It swam away when it had gotten his attention.
When Teitoi looked up, he saw the stern of a fishing vessel and crew members looking at him with binoculars, The Daily Mail reported.
"(The shark) was guiding me to a fishing boat," Teitoi told AFP.
The first thing he asked for once he was pulled to safety? A cigarette.