A MAN using his jeans as a floatation device was rescued after going overboard in the New Zealand sea.
The victim, Arne Murke from Germany, told local media that it was lucky for him that he knew the trick with the jeans or he wouldn’t have survived. Local media reported that the 30-year-old fell overboard a yacht at around 28km off the coast of Tolaga Bay on Wednesday (March 6) afternoon.
He made knots at the end of the legs and pulled them over water to get air inside and then forced them under to trap the air and create an improvised life vest.
A rescue helicopter managed to locate the German about three and a half hours after he was knocked overboard. Images of Murke floating in the water while being rescued have been circulating on the internet.
Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Service posted a message on Facebook saying that the victim’s brother sent out an alert from the boat as soon as he went overboard.
Watch the video here:
