A Chinese boy drifted at sea for 133 days and starved to the point of death. What happened next?

In recent years, Bear Grylls' "Into the Wild" programs have become very popular among viewers. While we marvel at Bear Grylls' superb survival skills, we also more or less imagine whether we can develop the same survival skills as Bear Grylls when we are abandoned alone on a desert island. Woolen cloth? During the Republic of China government, a Chinese young man, with his strong perseverance and skillful skills, staged a real "wilderness survival" at sea, and was finally successfully rescued. Let us take a look at it today.

A keen sailor escaped a shipwreck

This story begins with an unexpected shipwreck. In 1942, the anti-fascist war was in full swing. At this time, the British merchant ship "Bellomont" responded to the military call-up and received the task of transporting maritime cargo. For the more than fifty crew members aboard the Bellomont, this was just a simple transport mission. However, an accident happened quietly.

The merchant ship "Bello Monte" sailed through the calm and calm mouth of the Amazon River in South America as usual. However, 750 miles east of the mouth of the river, two torpedoes roared toward "Bello Monte" without any warning. "Meng" rushed over at full speed. The overwhelmed "Bellomont" was hit by a torpedo. The "Bellomont", which was attacked by a torpedo, sank to the bottom of the sea with an explosion that echoed through the sky. Basically all the more than 50 crew members on the "Bellomont" were buried at the bottom of the sea. Except our hero luckily survives.

The protagonist of this article is not like Bear Grylls and others who have received professional survival training, but the most ordinary second-class waiter sailor named Pan Lian. Pan Lian's childhood was spent wandering around with his father, recruiting apprentices and teaching skills. Pan Lian's father, who was a warrior, took Pan Lian to wander around the world without a fixed residence. In this way, Pan Lian ushered in his eighteenth year in the wind and rain. As an adult, Pan Lian did not have a legitimate means of livelihood. And Pan Lian's father didn't want his son to live a wandering life like himself.

However, at that time, the ambitions of Japanese imperialism were clearly revealed. The militarism, which was not satisfied with occupying China's three northeastern provinces, was secretly plotting an evil plan to fully invade China. In this environment, Hong Kong, China, which was located in a corner, was safer than the mainland at that time. So at the suggestion of a friend, his father decided to send Pan Lian to Hong Kong to try his luck.

Pan Lian, who had just arrived in Hong Kong, was walking on the streets of Hong Kong, his eyes full of confusion. At this time, it happened that a shipping company in Hong Kong was in need of sailors and was recruiting people. Pan Lian thought he could go in and give it a try. After going back and forth like this, Pan Lian became an ordinary apprentice on the ship "Tanda".

The talented Pan Lian worked on the "Tanda" ship for three years and was deeply loved by the crew. Three years later, Pan Lian successfully became an official sailor and served as a second-class waiter on the merchant ship "Bellomont".

Before the torpedo hit the merchant ship "Bellomont", Pan Lian, who was keen by nature, discovered something strange in the water. He quickly grabbed his life jacket and prepared to notify the crew, but the explosion occurred instantly. With no time to remind the crew, he jumped into the vast sea.

Drifting in the sea and struggling to survive

Just like what was written in "Robinson Crusoe", Pan Lian also had the same questions as Robinson: Wandering around on the sea Drifting, with his life and death uncertain, compared with the crew members who had perished in the sea, is he lucky or unlucky? After all, at that time, Pan Lian, who was beleaguered on all sides, did not believe that he could escape the clutches of death.

Pan Lian jumped down with the sound of the explosion and grabbed a broken wooden board and the remaining fragments of the "Bellomont" merchant ship after it was blown to pieces. Pan Lian just drifted on the sea, looking at the empty sea at a loss. However, fate favored the beloved for the first time at this time. Pan Lian found a lifeboat floating on the sea. On this life-saving lifeboat, there are also some survival necessities such as food, flashlights, drinkable fresh water, etc.

But food and fresh water are things that need to be consumed every day after all. Soon the food and fresh water on the lifeboat were exhausted by Pan Lian, and Pan Lian fell into the dilemma of survival again. Faced with the crisis of fresh water, Pan Lian came up with a way. Pan Lian moved all the bottles and cans from the lifeboat and used these containers to collect the rainwater when it rained. Fortunately, the place where Pan Lian suffered a shipwreck has a tropical rainforest climate. The year-round rainy climate also temporarily relieved Pan Lian's water shortage crisis.

However, the more serious problem before him was the lack of food. Friends who have watched survival programs will think of fishing when they think of survival in the ocean. For Pan Lian, who didn't have any tools, this was incredible. Pan Lian, who was at a loss for fishing, inadvertently saw some very small fish following his lifeboat at the bottom of the lifeboat, preying on crustaceans attached to the bottom of the lifeboat.

Pan Lian's eyes lit up and he caught some insects docked on the lifeboat and crustaceans clinging to the edge of the lifeboat, and used them as bait. After countless failures, he finally succeeded in trying many times. Then I caught a small fish. In this way, Pan Lian struggled to survive in this vast sea by eating fish and drinking rainwater.

Missed two chances to be rescued

During the 133 days of wandering, Pan Lian had two chances to be rescued.

Once, a German merchant ship passed by Pan Lian. Pan Lian shouted loudly to the German merchant ship as if he was grasping a life-saving straw. The German crew also noticed this savage-like drifter, so they moved the ship closer to Pan Lian. However, the approaching German crew members discovered that this was actually a Chinese. The German crew members, who were dismissive of Pan Lian, immediately lifted anchor and left Pan Lian behind, leaving Pan Lian with another despair.

The second time, when an American plane flew across the Atlantic, it discovered Pan Lian floating on the sea. This time the United States decided to help. An American plane dropped a mark on Pan Liangkong, preparing to send people to rescue him after returning home. Unfortunately, while Pan Lian was waiting for rescue, strong winds and huge waves arose on the sea, and the life-saving sign was blown away.

After experiencing two missed rescues, Pan Lian did not give up hope. Finally, after one hundred and thirty-three days of arduous survival, Pan Lian drifted near the coastline and was rescued by coastal residents. He ended his wandering and returned to the mainland.

Pan Lian’s experience shows his unyielding fighting spirit and courage in the face of nature’s difficulties. In fact, for many young people who have lived in cities for a long time, watching programs such as "Into the Wild" is just a few drops of excitement in their peaceful life. What we should really learn is the wisdom of active survival and the spirit of never giving up as embodied in Pan Lian.