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Brazilian fisherman survives by floating in freezer for 11 days after boat began to sink in ocean
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"I was desperate. I thought my end was coming. But thanks God, God gave me one more chance," Rodrigues said to the Record TV.
A Brazillian man has survived 11 days in the Atlantic Ocean after his boat sank, sheltering in a freezer for 11 days, Record TV reports.
Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues, 44, was travelling in a 23ft-long wooden boat from Oiapoque, in Amapa state, northern Brazil at the end of July, the Metro reported.
He was aiming to get to Ilet la Mere, an island off the coast of French Guiana, to spend a few days fishing, it mentioned.
But disaster struck and his boat began to fill with water and start sinking.
He then took refuge in a floating freezer to stay alive and was found by another group of fishermen 11 days later.
After returning to Brazil, the man said "I was born again. I thought I wouldn't be telling this story, but I'm back here."
WATCH: A Brazilian fisherman spent 11 days at sea without food or water, but survived by floating inside a freezer.
— BNN Brazil (@BNNBRNews) September 3, 2022
Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues, 44, left northern Brazil in a wooden boat in late July. pic.twitter.com/FHEr5b1J9H
"I was desperate. I thought my end was coming. But thanks God, God gave me one more chance," Rodrigues said to the Record TV.
"I saw it (freezer) wasn't sinking. I jumped (inside it), it fell to one side and kept normal."
He added that he does not know how to swim.
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"Sharks were surrounding the freezer, but they went away. I thought (I would be attacked). I stayed on the top (of the freezer), I didn't sleep, I didn't sleep. I saw the dawn, the dusk, asking God to send someone to rescue me."
He said he used his hand to scoop out the water that started to creep inside the freezer. He didn't have food or water, he added, and lost more than 10lbs during his ordeal.
"I was thinking about my kids, my wife. Every day I was thinking about my mother, my father, all my family. It gave me strength and hope ... but at the moment I thought there was no other way."
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He said that when the fisherman arrived he heard a noise and saw the freezer on top of the boat.
"Only they thought there was no one there. Then they slowly pulled over, my vision was already fading, then I said, 'My God, the boat.' I raised my arms and asked for help."
