Drunk Japan man jumps into sea to retrieve phone, survives after floating on back for 4 hours
Rescuers say ‘dangerous’ situation was helped by fact that inebriated man did not panic; online observers suggest alcohol helped save him
A drunk Japanese man shocked Chinese social media after he jumped into the sea to retrieve his phone and had to be rescued after drifting for more than four hours on his back.
The incident unfolded on July 27, when a 27-year-old man from Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture, in the southern part of Japan’s Honshu Island, was strolling and drinking on the Kurashiki Port Bridge.
Around midnight, while trying to photograph the night scenery with his mobile phone, he accidentally dropped it off the bridge.
Impaired by alcohol, he leapt into the sea at the mouth of the Takahashi River in an attempt to retrieve it.
Despite the dangerous conditions, the man managed to stay afloat.
He later told the police: “I originally wanted to swim back to shore, but the current was too strong. All I could do was try my best to float and wait for rescue.”
His ordeal came to an end four and a half hours later, when the coastguard received an emergency call from crew members at the nearby Mizushima Port.
