A THREE-year-old boy was found drifting alone in a dinghy after his parents had fallen overboard and drowned in a storm.
The little boy had been floating on his own for over 24 hours when he was discovered in the far-eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai.
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He had drifted close to shore on Lake Khanka and was fading in and out of consciousness when he was found.
The boy, only identified as Fedya, told his grandmother that he watched his parents drown and the last words of his mother were to advise on what to do until rescuers turned up.
While it isn’t clear what happened to the family on the lake and how the three-year-old boy managed to survive, it is believed his mother’s last words had enabled him to keep safe until he was spotted.
It is also believed that one of the boy’s parents managed to get him to turn off the boat’s engine after being thrown into the water during the storm and being unable to get back on board.
The couple has been described as experienced anglers who instilled a love for water activities in their son from birth.
A preliminary investigation found that the parents probably fell out of the vessel and drowned in front of their son, adding that it was a miracle he survived.
One theory is that the boat struck something while travelling at high speed and the parents were thrown overboard, unable to get back onboard due to the severe storm they may have been trying to flee from.
The boy is now conscious and awake in hospital.
The news site NTV said he is not yet willing to speak, but managed to tell his grandmother a few things.
Family friend Dmitry Ivanov said: “It seems like he saw his mother waving her arms around while she was drowning, asking him to press a button. As I understand it, she was asking him to turn off the engine.”
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