Tourist Swept Out To Sea Miraculously Survives By Clinging Onto Football For 18 Hours

A tourist who was swept away by waves in Greece managed to stay afloat after he clung to a football for 18 hours until he was rescued.

The 30-year-old man from North Macedonia, identified only by his first name Ivan, was washed away along with two of his friends off the coast of Kassandra. Ivan was declared lost at sea after some of his friends informed the coastguards, National Post reported.

However, Ivan was eventually rescued on July 10 after he managed to hold on to a football that was swept away from a beach 10 days before. Although it was running out of air, the ball helped Ivan stay afloat till a Greek Air Force helicopter spotted him on the shores of Pilion in northern Greece. The officials then alerted a freighter that helped pick up Ivan from the sea.

The ball reportedly belonged to two young brothers – 11-year-old Tryphon and 6-year-old Thanos – who lost it while playing at Evgatis Beach on the Greek island of Lemnos, around 80 miles away. The duo's mother spotted the pictures of Ivan's rescue on television and identified the ball, reports said.

Another man who went missing along with Ivan was also rescued. However, the officials are still searching for the third person, identified as 28-year-old Martin Jovanovski, who is believed to be in a difficult situation.

The mayor of Kassandra, Anastasia Chalkia, thanked the entire search team for the miraculous rescue.

"I had constant information on the course of the rescue and am very happy about the smooth ending of the young man’s adventure. The young man found a ball that saved his life as he helped him when he got tired," Chalkia said in a Facebook post, Lad Bible reported.

"Thanks to the port, the Kassandra Health Center, the air force, the Greek police, the fishermen's boats of Nea Skioni, the two boats sailing in the area, all the rescue teams and the volunteers," he added.