A Belgian rower has been rescued in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after his boat capsized during an extreme rowing race, US coastguards said on Thursday.
The 47-year-old athlete was forced to abandon his crossing on Wednesday after his vessel overturned and he sent out a distress signal. He was eventually picked up by a Liberian-flagged oil tanker that responded to the SOS.
At around 02:00 local time on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard in Puerto Rico received a distress call from a vessel in difficulty some 2,000 kilometres off the coast.
The signal came from the Belgian competitor, who was taking part in the World's Toughest Row Race, a 4,800-kilometre solo rowing challenge across the Atlantic.
According to the coastguards, the rower's boat was hit by two waves measuring four to five metres in height. He lost contact with race organisers and was forced to climb into his liferaft, which was tethered to his rowing boat.
The oil tanker Horten, sailing from Germany to Guyana, coordinated the rescue with race officials and the US and Puerto Rican coastguards. The vessel diverted around 200 kilometres from its original route to reach the stranded rower.
Once on board, the Belgian told rescuers he had been in distress for around 24 hours and was dehydrated. His condition was nevertheless described as stable and not life-threatening.
