Belgian rower capsized in Atlantic Ocean and rescued by Liberian tanker
A Belgian rower capsized on Wednesday during an extreme rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean, the US Coast Guard reported on Thursday. The 47-year-old ultra-rower had to abandon his journey and was picked up by a Liberian tanker that had received his distress signal.
On Wednesday, at around 2 a.m. local time, the coast guard in Puerto Rico received an emergency call from a ship that was possibly in distress some 2,000 km from the coast. The SOS signal came from a 47-year-old Belgian who was participating in the “World’s Toughest Row” race, in which participants row about 4,800 km across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Belgian's single-person rowing boat, the “City of Liverpool”, was hit by two enormous waves four to five metres high. The rower capsized, lost contact with the race organisers and was forced to board his life raft. He had tied his capsized rowing boat to his raft.
The Liberian ship Horten was en route from Germany to the coast of Guyana. The crew worked with the race coordinators and the US and Puerto Rican coast guards to locate the Belgian. The tanker deviated about 200 km from its regular course for the rescue operation. Once on board the Horten, the rower stated that he had been in distress for 24 hours and was dehydrated.
Illustration © PHOTO DESIREE MARTIN / AFP
Related news
