Shipwreck survivor heads home

A New Zealander who spent 11 days adrift in a liferaft after being shipwrecked off the coast of Vietnam has touched down in Sydney and hopes to be home for New Year.

Steve Freeman, originally from Nelson, and his Australian skipper, Mark Smith, survived by licking rainwater from the raft and drinking their urine after the motor launch they were ferrying from Hong Kong to Australia sank in a storm on December 6.

Mr Freeman, 30, said yesterday that he was looking forward to returning to Nelson in the next two days to see his parents.

He said the 11 days in the liferaft were "a bit rough" and he had lost 12kg.

But after they were rescued the pair had recovered well in Vietnam.

Mr Freeman is planning to head back to sea, on a tuna fishing boat working out of Queensland, after taking a few weeks' break.

Mr Smith described the ordeal as a "living hell".

But he and Mr Freeman had stayed calm, focused on routine and remained hopeful.

When they were spotted by a Vietnamese fishing vessel, said Mr Smith, the pair were overcome with euphoria. "We punched the raft and punched the sky and screamed out 'We've made it'."

Locals on the island of Ly Son nursed the pair back to health, Mr Smith said, and rescue crews eventually reached them and took them back to mainland Vietnam.

- NZPA