A young diver who vanished beneath the waves was found alive two days later after drifting nearly 100 miles to another continent.
The 23-year-old was spotted floating in the sea by the crew of a merchant ship en route to Portugal, who immediately raised the alarm.
A helicopter raced to the scene – 24 nautical miles off Caleta de Vélez on Spain’s Costa del Sol – and hoisted him to safety.
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Wearing only a wetsuit, he was showing signs of hypothermia but was miraculously still in stable condition on Friday (22 Aug).
Footage from the helicopter showed the dramatic moments before he was evacuated from the merchant ship, as reported by Need To Know.
He was transferred to Motril, on Spain’s Costa Tropical, where an emergency helipad allowed him to be rushed to hospital.
On arrival, he was semi-conscious and suffering from dehydration.
The survivor later told police he had been diving with friends off Fnideq, on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, on the afternoon of 20 August.
But powerful currents swept him away.
When he resurfaced, he had lost sight of his group – and the tide carried him off into open water.
By the time he was rescued, he had drifted 96 miles across the sea.
He remained in hospital on Saturday (23 Aug) but was expected to return to his native Morocco once discharged.
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