Russian woman reeled in by fishermen after 7 hours lost at sea

A Russian woman was dramatically rescued by heroic Thai fishermen after her ambitious 8-kilometre swim from Na Jomtien Beach went horribly wrong. The woman found herself drifting aimlessly in the sea for a staggering seven hours, unable to find her way back to shore.

The drama unfolded around 4pm yesterday, September 25, when the crew of a squid fishing boat spotted the beleaguered swimmer in the middle of the Bang Saray Sea, off the coast of Sattahip district, Chon Buri province. As they drew closer, they realised the exhausted woman was a foreign national in desperate need of help.

Without hesitation, the quick-thinking crew hauled the swimmer aboard and immediately made contact with local rescuer Supoj Chomdokmai. Wasting no time, Supoj sped to the scene on a speedboat and transferred the weary woman back to safety.

Supoj and the brave fishermen then brought their waterlogged passenger to the shore near a fishing and tourism club on Bang Saray, ensuring she was out of harm’s way.

Supoj spoke with the foreign woman about how she became stranded in the sea. The woman, later identified as a 32 year old Russian national named Junior, told him she stayed at a beachfront hotel on Na Jomtien Beach. After drinking alcohol, she decided to go for a swim in the sea at around 9am.

Junior explained that she realised she had become lost when she was far from the shore. She attempted to swim back but was unsure which direction to take and eventually decided to float, hoping for a passing boat to spot her.

Supoj took the Russian woman to a hospital for a medical check-up before returning her to her hotel. She was reported to be merely exhausted, with no injuries or concerning symptoms.

In a related incident in March, speedboat operators in Pattaya rescued a homeless man who was travelling dangerously on a self-constructed raft. He was spotted 2.4 kilometres from the Bali Hai Pier on a raft made of plastic bottles and wooden sticks.

Locals revealed that this man attempted to travel from Pattaya to Koh Larn, an island easily reached by ferry from Bali Hai Pier. Moreover, this was not his first attempt to reach the island using his homemade raft.