Three sailors from a Russian cargo ship were found stranded on a small island in the U.K.’s Bristol Channel after going missing during a drunken night out in a seaside town, a British news site reported on Thursday.
The trio was last spotted in Barry, Wales in the early hours of Thursday morning. When they failed to return to their ship, anchored in Minehead, Somerset, the ship’s crew raised the alarm with local coast guards. Lifeboats were soon sent out to rescue the sousing sailors.
Rescuers said they believe that the sailors got lost in the foggy conditions when heading back to their ship on a small inflatable dinghy. Presumably, alcohol didn't add any clarity to the situation of the seafearing men.
The sailors, who are Russian, Dutch and Philippine nationals, were discovered on Flat Holm, a small island just over half a kilometer in length, at around 8:50 a.m., Wales Online reported. Their reported condition is the best one any lost and drunken wanderer on a winter's eve could hope for: safe but cold.
The roaming revelers were then herded back to Barry and are now being “assisted” by the South Wales Police, a police spokesman told Wales Online.
Last month, more drunken drama in foreign waters took place when an intoxicated Russian sailor ripped a hole in a major South Korean highway bridge with a cargo ship. The captain had ignored warnings from Korean coast guards because he “didn’t understand English well.”
