Man And Cat Lost At Sea For 7 Months Rescued By Coast Guard

A man lost at sea with his cat was rescued Sunday by the French Coast Guard after being adrift for seven months. The unidentified 54-year-old was a Polish sailor headed to South Africa from the Comoros Islands off the coast of Mozambique when he became lost, Radio France Internationale reported.

The man set sail in May to take the 1,200-mile journey in a boat he made himself.

The French Coast Guard was able to rescue the man who had veered far off course in the Indian Ocean after he was spotted by a yacht crew near the French island of Reunion Sunday.

The sailor and his cat were able to survive by eating half a packet of Chinese soup each day and fishing, South African news agency ECNA reported. He was unable to communicate with anyone on land because his instruments had been destroyed, according to Agence France Presse.

The boat broke down shortly after it left port due to a problem with the mast, according to AFP. Investigators were working to determine exactly what happened that caused the man to become lost at sea.