Hiromitsu Shinkawa was pushed out to sea while he clung to the roof of his home, which was swept away by a tsunami. He drifted off Japan`s northeastern coast for two days, trying to get the attention of helicopters and ships that passed by - but no one saw him.
According to the footage aired on Japan?s state-run NHK TV, the man is seen floating on a piece of roof in the middle of the sea, 15 kilometers (around 10 miles) offshore from Fukushima prefecture.
A Japanese military vessel spotted the old man waving a red cloth off the coast from the city of Minamisoma, and soldiers used a small boat to pluck him from the ocean.
Shinkawa told his rescuers that the tsunami hit as he and his wife returned home to gather some belongings after Friday`s quake. His wife was swept away, according to a defense official.
"Several helicopters and ships passed by, but none of them noticed me," he was quoted as saying.
Shinkawa was airlifted and in "good condition" after being swept out to sea with his home, Kyodo news agency said.
Death toll in the 8.9-magnitude quake, the fifth strongest in the world?s history, and the ensuing tsunami stands at 1,400 but authorities say it is expected to surpass 10,000. Thousands of others are still missing.
More than 300,000 people have been evacuated in northeastern Japan as widespread power cuts are reported in many cities across the country.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
