OMG: Man Survives In Ocean For 438 Days, But Is Sued For Horrific Reason (PHOTOS)

A castaway who survived 15 months at sea is being sued for £660,000 (₦199,170,160.62) by the family of his dead friend after claims he stayed alive by eating him, according to the UK Sun.

Salvador Alvarenga, 36, washed ashore in January last year on the Pacific’s Marshall Islands after spending 438 days adrift.

He had drifted over 10,780 km (6,700 miles) from the coast of Mexico, where the boat he and crewmate Ezequiel Cordoba, 22, were sailing in was crippled by a storm.

Alvarenga, of El Salvador, later described how stayed alive by drinking urine and turtle blood and eating fish and birds he caught by hand.

Salvador Alvarenga shortly after he was rescued

According to Alvarenga, Cordoba lost hope and refused to eat. After he died, Alvarenga left his rotting body in the boat for six days to keep him company.

But Cordoba’s family are now demanding compensation after claiming he was a victim of cannibalism, according to reports.

Ricardo Cucalon, Alvarenga’s lawyer, denied the castaway had eaten his shipmate and insisted he threw the body overboard.

Alvarenga with Ezequiel Cordoba’s mother Roselia

He pointed out that the lawsuit was launched just days after the long-awaited book about Alvarenga’s ordeal had been published.

“I believe that this demand is part of the pressure from this family to divide the proceeds of royalties.

“Many believe the book is making my client a rich man, but what he will earn is much less than people think.”

The boat Alvarenga was cast adrift in

This isn’t the first time that Alvarenga has faced legal troubles.  He was previously sued by his former lawyer for an equivalent of ₦198,902,399.24 and has largely survived on handouts since his ordeal.

Alvarenga was working in a fishing village on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s southern Chiapas state when the two men took out a small fishing boat to catch tuna.

The craft disappeared during bad weather on November 17, 2012, and no trace of them or the vessel was found during an intense two-week search.

He then washed up on the remote atoll of Ebon in the Marshall Islands nearly a year and a half later.

Alvarenga reunited with his family

He later said he came close to giving up hope of being rescued after several large ships came near his small fishing boat but none tried to rescue him.

“I always had faith in God that I was going to live, asking Him every day, every night.”

He said he became so hungry he began to grab jellyfish from the water, scooping them up in his hands and swallowing them whole.

“It burned the top part of my throat, but wasn’t so bad.”

Alvarenga is believed to be the first person in history to have survived lost at sea in a small boat for more than a year.

The post OMG: Man Survives In Ocean For 438 Days, But Is Sued For Horrific Reason (PHOTOS) appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.

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