Brit kayaker rescued at sea after spending days clinging to buoy in English Channel 'vanishes from French hospital'
29 October 2022, 09:35 | Updated: 29 October 2022, 09:39
A British kayaker who was rescued at sea after spending days clinging to a buoy has vanished from the French hospital at which he was receiving treatment.
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Ryan Ball, 28, was found on the buoy, wearing just a pair of swimming trunks, by the crew of a Dutch fishing boat on Thursday.
Hypothermic, bruised and exhausted, he was rescued and airlifted to a French hospital - but has now discharged himself against medical advice, The Sun reports.
The paper says he was supposed to spend two weeks receiving treatment.
Mr Ball said he was fishing in his £150 inflatable kayak off the coast of Dover when he was swept out to sea with just a small rucksack carrying a few items of clothing.
From his hospital bed in Boulogne, France, he told The Sun he reached for the buoy and tried to pull his kayak onto it, but the vessel was punctured and eventually sank.
He claims he clung onto the buoy for 12 days as "hundreds" of ships passed, too far away to see him.
The 28-year-old says he ate seaweed from the buoy and drank rainwater to survive, and tied himself to the buoy with his jumper in order to sleep.
However some are sceptical of Mr Ball's version of events, with fishing boat skipper Teunis de Boer saying he was "confused" when they found him, adding it would not have been possible to sleep on the buoy in the weather conditions of the past few days.
Authorities told Dutch news outlet NOS the paddler had been on the buoy for around 48 hours.
French authorities also said he would not have been able to survive the cold in swimming trunks for more than two days.
News of the man's "miracle" rescue emerged on Friday.
Dutch media said Mr Ball had departed Dover on October 15.
He was finally found when the crew of cutter ship 'De Madelaine' of Dutch shipping company T. de Boer en Zonen spotted him on Thursday morning.
Mr de Boer told local media he noticed something strange on the buoy from a distance.
He grabbed a pair of binoculars and saw the man, wearing nothing but swimming trunks, "waving at us like a madman", De Telegraaf reports.
The crew worked in turbulent weather conditions to get closer to the man, and threw him a life ring.
The kayaker - who was exhausted, bruised and reportedly had a body temperature of just 26C - was brought aboard and given food and water.
He was wrapped in blankets as the crew called the French coastguard.
Too exhausted to speak, Mr Ball expressed his gratitude to the fisherman by making heart signs with his hands.
Britse kajakker na dagen op een lichtboei gered door Nederlandse vissers. Maakt het goed. Zie meer tekst op onze tijdlijn of bij Het Urkerland
Posted by EMK-vissers on Thursday, October 27, 2022
The skipper said it was "a miracle" the paddler had survived.
The crew had not even been planning on going fishing in the area, but changed their plans last minute because of a disappointing catch earlier in the day.
The kayaker was airlifted to a French hospital for treatment.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FDCO) said yesterday they had not been asked for any consular assistance in relation to the kayaker but were ready to help if needed.
