‘Extremely lucky fella’ who survived 20 hours at sea was found clinging onto remains of dinghy

A man who survived 20 hours stranded out at sea has been described by police as 'extremely lucky'.

The unnamed man's dinghy capsized after it was smashed by a wave in the Torres Strait, between Getullia Island and Sue Island.

Police began searching for him after he was reported missing, having not made it back to Warraber Island on Tuesday (20 December).

The following day, the 31-year-old was found clinging desperately to a chunk of debris from his sunken vessel.

According to Queensland Police, he had been floating out in the water for almost an entire day before he was rescued.

Speaking to ABC News, a spokesperson for the force said the man had set out on his trip without any safety equipment.

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They told the outlet that it's an absolute miracle he was still alive.

“It’s incredible," they said. "It’s one in a million.

“To be floating in that water and knowing the creatures that are in there and to still be there some 20 hours later – he’s an extremely lucky fella.”

An aircraft was sent out from Cairns to survey the area in an effort to find the missing man on Tuesday night (20 December).

However, the search was eventually called off due to bad weather conditions.

A police spokesperson went on: “It was blowing about 40 knots and was really blustery and stormy, so that hampered the search and rescue efforts.

“We weren’t able to use any helicopter assets last night because of the poor weather or any other assets like the volunteer marine rescue because of the poor conditions.”

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The search continued the following morning and the man was spotted floating a couple of kilometres from the site of his wrecked dinghy.

He was pulled up to safety and taken to Thursday Island, where he received medical attention.

Police said the man is now recovering.

“He’s in really good spirits and not suffering from any serious conditions,” Queensland Police said.

“He had no safety equipment on board at all, no EPIRBs [emergency beacons], no flares.

“He’s extremely lucky. That’s the big message that we’d like to get across, if you are going out this Christmas, enjoy yourselves but just make sure you get enough safety equipment."