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Man tries to paddle from Thailand to India to reunite with wife
The 37-year-old-man was at sea for 18 days with some instant noodles and a suitcase. He had set sail from Phuket to meet his wife in Mumbai, who he hadn't seen for two years.
Ho Huang Hung tried to raft from Thailand to India (Source: Third Naval Area Command of the Royal Thai Navy)
Authorities in Thailand have rescued a Vietnamese man who attempted to paddle on an inflatable boat from Phuket to India.
The 37-year-old man, identified as Ho Hoang Hung, was trying to reunite with his wife, after having lived apart from her for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When he was found, the man's 2.5-metre-long boat contained a nearly-empty water bottle, about 10 packets of instant noodles and a suitcase.
The man had been at sea for 18 days and was trying to reach the Bay of Bengal. He was attempting to row 2,000 kms from Thailand. According to reports, it would have taken him another 625 days to reach the Indian coast.
Hung had earlier flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok to get a connecting flight to Mumbai but had to change his plans as he needed a visa through that more normal route.
Captain Pichet Songtan from the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre was quoted in reports saying that Hung was found with no maps, compass or GPS. He also had no change of clothes and very limited drinking water.
He was spotted by a fishing boat, which alerted the Thai Navy's maritime security unit, which intercepted him and took him back to Thailand for further questioning.
Hung was trying to reach his wife who works in Mumbai. He had set sail on March 5 from the coast of Phuket but was able to make little headway as he had been caught up in winds.
