Odd News

Australian man washed overboard survives long swim

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-02-16 11:13

BRISBANE, Australia -Australian police say a fisherman who was knocked overboard by a rogue wave survived a six-hour swim to shore without a lifejacket.

Officials say they realized the man was missing when someone spotted his unmanned boat with the engine still running Tuesday off the Gold Coast, south of the Queensland capital of Brisbane.

Tweed Heads Police Inspector Darren Steel told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Wednesday that the man's boat was hit by a large wave, knocking him overboard. The boat kept going without him, so he was forced to make the 4.7-mile (7.5 kilometer) swim to shore.

After making it to land, he climbed over rocks and knocked on a stranger's door for help.

Steel said the man was treated at a hospital and released.