‘Whale-watcher’ found after 67 days adrift at sea beside the dead bodies of his brother and nephew now faces jail over the men’s deaths

Mikhail Pichugin, 45, spent over two months adrift in an inflatable dinghy with the dead bodies of his brother Sergei Pichugin, and his nephew, Ilya before he was rescued in October 2024

Pichugin, had been drifting for hundreds of miles in the inhospitable Sea of Okhotsk – in the far north-east of Russia – after his engine broke while on an adventure trip to watch whales in their natural habitat

The were returning from a whale-watching trip near the remote Shantar Islands when their motor stopped working 37 miles from shore

Haggard and gaunt Pichugin was hailed as a hero in Russia for surviving for so long in such harsh conditions

Pichugin now faces up to seven years in jail for causing the deaths of his relatives

Prosecutors accused him of violating the rules of sea transport, so causing the death of his brother and nephew

Hailed as a hero last October when he was rescued after 67 days adrift in an inflatable dinghy with the dead bodies of his brother and nephew, prosecutors in Russia have accused Mikhail Pichugin [photo], of causing their deaths

Three months after he was rescued barely alive, the status of a ‘whale-watcher’ who was found alive after 67 days adrift at sea has switched from hero to villain, as he is charged with causing the deaths of his companions on the voyage.
45-year-old fisherman, Mikhail Pichugin, spent over two months adrift in freezing Russian waters,  in an inflatable dinghy with the bodies of his nephew and brother before he was rescued in October last year. 
His vessel’s engine failed while on an adventure trip to watch whales in their natural habitat. He had been drifting for hundreds of miles in the inhospitable Sea of Okhotsk – in the far north-east of Russia.
When he was found alive, the haggard and gaunt, Pichugin was hailed as a hero in Russia for surviving for so long in such harsh conditions. At the time experts said his survival after more than two months on seas known for their storms and chilling temperatures as ‘beyond comprehension’.

The is the moment Mikhail Pichugin was found alive in the frigid waters of the Sea of Okhotsk, in the north-east of Russia. The haggard and gaunt survivor was hailed as a hero in Russia for surviving for so long in such harsh conditions

But even as he was rescued authorities in Russia indicated that should he recover, the fisherman would face the wrath of prosecutors. He was looking at a potential jail sentence of up to seven years despite his miraculous tale of survival.
As his boat is deemed unsuitable in Russian law for venturing more than two nautical miles from the shore, a criminal case was been opened into a potential violation of maritime safety laws.

Mikhail Pichugin was traveling with his is elder brother Sergei Pichugin, [left], and his nephew Ilya [right]. Both died on the boat

Pichugin now faces up to seven years in jail for causing the deaths of his elder brother, Sergei Pichugin, 49, and his 15-year-old nephew, Ilya.
The family party were returning from a whale-watching trip near the remote Shantar Islands when their motor stopped working 37 miles from shore.
Pichugin told his rescuers that, the teenage nephew, Ilya, was the first to die from starvation having ‘hardly eating, he claimed.
‘After that his father went crazy – Sergei was crying, screaming and jumping into the water’, Michail Pichugin said:.

At the time he was rescued Mikhail Pichugin, Haggard and looking gaunt, was seen wrapped in blankets and a life vest aboard the minuscule vessel. Authorities said he had lost 50 kilograms in body weight

Mikhail Pichugin now faces up to seven years in prison for causing the deaths of his brother, Sergei Pichugin, and his nephew, Ilya

‘Mikhail pulled him out of the water, warmed him up, tried to feed him, but he refused to do so, and after 10 days he also died.’
Mikhail Pichugin along with his brother Sergei and his son Ilya in the dinghy, were on a return journey from the feeding ground for whales in the waters of the remote Shantar Islands. They were headed back to Okha, on Russia’s largest island Sakhalin, when disaster struck.
On board the trio were wearing warm clothes, life jackets, flares, a small supply of food and 20 liters of drinking water, expecting their journey to take several days.
But after the Baykat 470 M catamaran-type inflatable lost use of its Honda engine, the vessel drifted at least 625 miles over the course of more than two months.
Russian rescuers had looked for the trio to no avail and after a month evidently decided they were unlikely to survive in a sea known for its storms.
Incredibly one of the trio – Mikhail – survived. He was ultimately found some 14 miles off the village of Ust-Khairyuzovo, on the Kamchatka peninsula by the Angel fishing vessel.

Instead of being a witness in a criminal case, Mikhail Pichugin, has been made the suspect due to his alleged failure to comply with rules

Prosecutors have gone after Pichugin, accusing him of violating the rules of sea transport, so causing the death of his brother and nephew. Instead of being a witness in a criminal case, he has been made the suspect due to his alleged failure to comply with rules.
‘As a result of my violations of navigation, my brother Sergei and his son Ilya died,’ he said in a confession.
His inflatable boat should not have gone more than three kilometers – less than two miles – from the coast. When the engine broke he was 37 miles from the shore, say reports.
Pichugin only survived the lack of food on board because he was overweight, said reports at the time.
Reacting to his predicament he has said: ‘I lost my relatives, it’s hard for me.
‘They also want to put me in jail,’ despite of the admitting, ‘I understand that I violated the law’.

Prosecutors have gone after Pichugin, accusing him of violating the rules of sea transport, so causing the death of his brother and nephew

‘I sailed too far from the shore.’
However, he said: ‘My relatives died not because I went too far out to sea but due to a combination of circumstances.’
When he was rescued, the authorities said Mr Pichugin had lost 50 kilograms in body weight, was seen wrapped in blankets and a life jacket aboard the minuscule vessel to which he had tied another orange flotation vest in a desperate bid to attract attention. 

How Pichugin ‘could survive in the icy, stormy sea for more than two months is simply beyond comprehension,’ said Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of Sakhalin Environment Watch. The whale watcher reportedly, only survived the lack of food on board because he was overweight

Local experts are astonished at his survival for some 67 days after going missing.
Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of Sakhalin Environment Watch, said: ‘There are two real miracles here.⠀
‘The first is that such a small, uncontrolled boat was not capsized in the stormy autumn Sea of Okhotsk after more than two months of drifting.
‘I can’t wrap my head around how this is possible.
‘The boat certainly went through several strong storms and remained afloat – this is something incredible.
‘The second is that someone on this boat survived. The fact that two people died – a father and son – is very sad, but not surprising.
‘But how the third person, could survive in the icy, stormy sea for more than two months is simply beyond comprehension. It truly is a miracle,’ he said, adding, ‘For over 20 years, I have been traveling the Sea of Okhotsk on an inflatable motorboat, and I fully understand what this man went through.
‘But I cannot understand how he managed to survive.’