A holidaymaker in Greece managed to survive eighteen hours at sea thanks to a half-inflated volleyball. 30-year-old Ivan from North Macedonia went swimming with a friend at Myti Beach in Kassandra, but was swept away by the strong current. According to him, the ball is the reason he is still alive.
Unbelievably, his life was saved when a child’s ball floated towards him in the ocean.
Ivan was pulled out of the water on Sunday and has since recovered from his ordeal 🚑 pic.twitter.com/6ZuLzdWfH6
— Metro (@MetroUK) July 14, 2022
When Ivan and his friend Martin were dragged out to sea and lost while swimming, their friends immediately alerted the lifeguards. About eighteen hours later, Ivan was rescued from the water by the Coast Guard. He says he has kept it up all this time thanks to the toy ball that had floated towards him. He could cling to that, making it easier to stay above water.
As if the story wasn’t special enough, the origin of the lifesaving ball has since been discovered. What seems? The thing travelled about 80 miles before reaching Ivan. The ball belongs to a couple of Greek children who played with it ten days earlier on the island of Limnos, a little further away, local media report.
Brothers Tryphon and Thanos had been playing with their favourite ball on Evgatis Beach, on the Greek island of Lemnos on June 30 when the sea swept it away🏐
But somehow, sea currents pulled it 80 miles away from the island, and into Ivan’s path 🌍 pic.twitter.com/RDT16rozja
— Metro (@MetroUK) July 14, 2022
Ivan was fished out of the water last Sunday and is now doing well after being treated in hospital, but his friend Martin is still missing. He is still being sought, including with helicopters.
On Facebook, Mayor Anastasia Chalkia posted a message about the incident with photos of her standing with Ivan’s family and the ball in question. “We continue to search for the other missing person, I hope he is found alive soon.”
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