A Russian rescued after 67 days adrift in the chilly Sea of Okhotsk describes his ordeal

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man rescued after 67 days adrift in a small inflatable boat in the Sea of Okhotsk described Wednesday how he survived by battling shivering cold and drinking rainwater.

Mikhail Pichugin, 46, had set off to watch whales with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew. But the boat's engine shut down on their way back on Aug. 9.

Initial efforts by emergency services to locate the trio failed. Pichugin’s brother and nephew later died, and he tied their bodies to the boat to prevent them from being washed away.

A fishing vessel spotted the boat this week and rescued Pichugin about 20 kilometers (11 nautical miles) off Kamchatka and about 1,000 kilometers (540 nautical miles) from its departure point.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday from his hospital bed, Pichugin described how the boat's engine broke down and then one of the oars broke, making the boat uncontrollable.

The phone on board was useless as there was no network coverage, but the trio used it for geolocation for a week until the phone battery and a power bank ran out. They tried unsuccessfully to attract rescuers' attention using the few flares they had.

“A helicopter flew past close, than another one after three days, but they were useless,” Pichugin said in comments broadcast by Russian state television.

He said they collected rainwater and struggled to get warm on the sea off eastern Russia.

“There was a sleeping bag with camel wool, it was wet and didn't dry,” he said. "You crawl under it, wiggle a little and get warm.”

They had a limited stockpile of noodles and peas and tried to catch some fish.

Russian media quoted Pichugin as saying his nephew died of hypothermia and hunger in September. His brother started behaving erratically and tried at one point to jump off the boat.

Pichugin said he survived “thanks to God's help," adding softly that “I simply had no choice, I had my mother and my daughter left at home.”

Doctors at the Magadan hospital said he was suffering from dehydration and hypothermia but in stable condition.

In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, Mikhail Pichugin, who was rescued by a fishing vessel following 67 days adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east, speaks to medics and journalists in a hospital in Magadan, Russian far east. (RU-RTR Russian Television via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by the official telegram channel of the Russian Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, a Russian man who spent more than two months adrift in an inflatable boat is seen before being rescued by a fishing vessel in the Okhotsk Sea near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east. (Official telegram channel of the Russian Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, Russian emergency workers pull Mikhail Pichugin ashore after he was rescued by a fishing vessel following 67 days adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, Mikhail Pichugin, who was rescued by a fishing vessel following 67 days adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east, speaks to medics and journalists in a hospital in Magadan, Russian far east. (RU-RTR Russian Television via AP)

In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, Mikhail Pichugin, who was rescued by a fishing vessel following 67 days adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east, speaks to medics and journalists in a hospital in Magadan, Russian far east. (RU-RTR Russian Television via AP)

In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, Mikhail Pichugin, who was rescued by a fishing vessel following 67 days adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ust-Khairuzovo in Kamchatka region of Russian far east, speaks to medics and journalists in a hospital in Magadan, Russian far east. (RU-RTR Russian Television via AP)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting manager gave March Madness its first bracket buster.

The 12th-seeded Cowboys used a stifling first half to open a 24-point lead, and then held off late-charging No. 5 seed Clemson for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, a 69-67 win in the opening round of the East Region on Thursday.

“We have broken every record in the book," said Wade, who led the school to its first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament and now its first victory. “This was the last one to get. We want to keep this going. We want to keep this going.”

McNeese earned a matchup on Saturday with fourth-seeded Purdue, a 75-63 winner over High Point earlier in Providence.

Brandon Murray scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, when the Southland Conference school from Lake Charles, Louisiana, held Clemson to 13 points. After falling behind by as many as 24 in the second, the Tigers rallied, erasing most of a 12-point deficit in the final minute before running out of time.

“We went out there and took the first punch and they didn’t know how to react to that, honestly,” Murray said. “Coach tells us to be ourselves, play with swag. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Chris Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds for McNeese, which has been best-known this March for its viral, rapping manager and a renegade coach who has reportedly already lined up his next job — at NC State.

The Wolfpack will have to wait at least another 48 hours, because Wade is still needed in Providence.

Wade celebrated by running into the stands join the McNeese crowd — though even the neutral observers were rooting for the Cowboys against the Tigers from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference. When he arrived in the locker room, his players doused him with water.

“Coach Wade made this plan. This is not something that started just now,” guard Quadir Copeland said. “This is something that’s been a goal the whole way and it's been amazing.”

A 7½-point underdog, McNeese (28-6) held the Tigers to one basket over almost eight minutes during a 17-2 first-half run that turned a tie game into a 23-8 lead. After Clemson (27-7) scored the first three points of the second, the Cowboys ran off nine in a row and led by as many as 24 points.

Jaeden Zackery scored 24 points, Chase Hunter had 21 and Viktor Lakhin grabbed 10 rebounds for Clemson before fouling out with six minutes left in the game.

The once-feared ACC is down to two teams: No. 1 seed Duke and North Carolina, one of the last teams in. No. 8 seed Louisville lost to ninth-seeded Creighton in another of the tournament's first games.

With 70 seconds left, Javohn Garcia blocked Zackery twice on the same shot and Shumate streaked toward the basket for the long pass and reverse dunk that gave the Cowboys a 12-point lead.

But Zackery hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to make it a nine-point game, Jake Heidbreder hit one to cut the deficit to six, and then, after Sincere Parker’s reverse dunk brought the crowd to its feet, Zackery hit another 3 to make it 67-62.

After McNeese missed a free throw — one of six missed foul shots in the final six minutes — Chauncey Wiggins hit a long 3 to make it a three-point game. Another missed free throw gave Clemson the ball with 10 seconds left, down four.

Hunter drove to the basket, but scored as time expired.

Wade was fired from LSU amid an investigation into recruiting violations, and he took a year off before returning to Louisiana at McNeese. In two seasons, he has led the Cowboys to their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

Teams have gone cold before – 11 of them have been held to a baker’s dozen or fewer points in the first half – but Clemson is just the second one to do it when seeded fifth or better since the shot clock era began in 1986.

Clemson was 1 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and made just five baskets before the break.

The Cowboys head into the Purdue game with a 9-5 record in nonconference games this year, including two losses to SEC teams in the regular season. Under Wade, they are 1-0 against the Big Ten, beating Michigan in Ann Arbor last year.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery, left, react after a loss to McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)