Monday , March 25 2024

German Yachtsman Inflates Trousers To Survive 3 Hours In Sea

Knocked overboard in rough seas off New Zealand, a German yachtsman credited his jeans with saving his life after fashioning them into a make-shift life jacket that kept him afloat for over three hours before his rescue by coastguards, reports Reuters.


Arne Murke, 30, was sailing with his brother in Tolaga Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island, on March 6, when the yacht’s boom swung unexpectedly, whacking him into the water.

Unable to reach the life jacket thrown by his brother, Murke was soon carried far off by the swell.
“Luckily, I knew the trick with the jeans,” Murke told the New Zealand Herald newspaper. “Without the jeans I wouldn’t be here today. They were really the thing that saved me.”

He made knots at the end of the legs and pulled them over water to get air inside and then forced them under to trap the air and create an improvised life vest.

A rescue helicopter managed to locate the German about 3 1/2 hours after he was knocked overboard. Images of Murke floating in the water while being rescued have been circulating on the internet.
“It was fortunate the yacht had both a VHF radio and emergency beacons (two) to raise the alert,” Rescue Coordination Center NZ Senior Search and Rescue Coordinator Chris Henshaw said in a statement on the agency’s website after the incident.

“Without appropriate communications devices and beacons it may have turned out differently.” Henshaw said.

The newspaper said the brothers, who had been tourists in New Zealand, had taken a commission to deliver the yacht, Wahoo, to Brazil.

Source: Reuters

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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22 comments

  1. Nwufo Vivian chidimma

    Intelligence

  2. woah
    he knows the sea well

    Unable to reach the life jacket thrown by his brother…..
    He made knots at the end of the legs and pulled them
    over water to get air inside and then forced them under
    to trap the air and create an improvised life vest.

  3. Onuorah Adaeze Chidimma

    Wow, such a brainy man nice nice…..

  4. Okonkwo Isioma Jane

    Very smart

  5. ntoruka maryjane

    Ntoruka Maryjane
    I really love the bravery

  6. Gabriel Precious

    Nice

  7. Thank goodness for your survival

  8. Okonkwo chukwunonso

    Thank God he was reduced the water carry him

  9. This is a confirm life hack thank God for his life

  10. Egbuwalo Teniola Glory

    Wow. Early preparation and Quick thinking saved his life. Those jeans should be made available to the public.

  11. It’s good to know how to survive when odds are against you

  12. Its the lords doing not just the jeans

  13. Hmmmn!!! This is extraordinary

  14. Thank God for your life and not your Jean

  15. Thank God for the jeans. It’s good to know about these DIY tricks, may seem unnecessary buh it does more than wonders in times of need!

  16. Chukwunedu Nkechi. F.

    This is brilliant. He would have drowned

  17. Omenuko Adaobi Promise

    Wow…

  18. Asomugha chidalu

    wow!!this is incredible.i love it

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