Fisherman Praises God After Reportedly Surviving 11 Days in Ocean Floating Inside Freezer
A fisherman in Brazil is praising God after being rescued while floating inside a freezer for 11 days in the Atlantic Ocean. Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues was on a fishing trip last month that was supposed to last for 3 days. However, that changed when cracks in his boat started to fill with water, causing it to sink.
Rodrigues reported that he did not know how to swim, according to CNN.
“I was desperate,” Rodrigues said. “I thought my end was coming. But thanks God, God gave me one more chance. I saw it (freezer) wasn’t sinking. I jumped (inside it), it fell to one side and kept normal.”
Rodrigues recalled water seeping into the freezer and sharks circling around him.
“Sharks were surrounding the freezer, but they went away,” Rodrigues said. “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.”
While floating in the Atlantic, Rodrigues knew that his situation didn’t look good. There were many things going through his mind at that time, including the possibility that these were his final moments.
“I was thinking about my kids, my wife,” he said. “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.”
By this time, Rodrigues reported to The Independent that he had lost around 11lbs, was extremely dehydrated, and that his eyes were damaged by the sun and wind.
Miraculously, a group of fishermen rescued Rodrigues off the coast of Suriname.
“I heard a noise, and there was a boat on top of the freezer,” he said. “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.”
Today, Rodrigues is grateful to be alive, crediting God for getting him through.
“That freezer was God in my life. The only thing I had was the freezer. It was a miracle.”
