Boy, 11, rescued at sea on polystyrene slab after missing school | World | News
11-year-old boy finally rescued from ocean (Image: Jam Press)
A frightened teenage boy was pulled to safety from the open ocean and discovered floating on a large polystyrene sheet all day after failing to turn up for school.
The 11-year-old student was missing from classes Tuesday morning, and her teacher, concerned about her unusual absences, tried to reach her parents but received no response.
The child, identified only by the surname Tsou, had previously been flagged by social services as living in a vulnerable household, triggering a welfare visit to the family’s home. Despite persistent knocking on the door, officers received no response and then raised a missing person alert.
That same afternoon, while the search was still going on, a fisherman saw a child drifting in the water, holding a large piece of polystyrene in his hand, at the mouth of the Zhonggang River off Zhunan Town, Taiwan.
The fisherman immediately alerted authorities, and coast guards rushed to the scene and brought the boy, confirmed to be Tsou through an emergency rescue operation, safely ashore.
After the rescue, authorities contacted his father, who worked in Hsinchu, and arranged for him to pick up his son.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Tsou may have traveled alone from nearby Houlong Town to the coastal area to play. The exact circumstances and reasons why he did this are under investigation.
The Miaoli County Government’s Education Department has since stepped in and provided counseling and assistance to both the child and his parents.
Emergency services were called after being seen from the shore. (Image: Jam Press)
Two years ago, a young boy was discovered trapped in a large inflatable balloon at sea by a dazed boater on a family trip.
Rafael Graça do Prado, then 32, was in the water with his children when he noticed the strange object bobbing at Lazaro Beach in Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 24.
Video footage shows the transparent bubble in which the young boy, approximately eight years old, was trapped inside the wave.
Tsou was seen swimming in the sea (Image: Jam Press)
It is thought that the child was having fun with his parents on the beach, inside the bubble that was tied with a rope to prevent it from flying away. However, the rope broke and the youth was thrown out to sea before being discovered by chance by Rafael.
His immediate concern was whether there was enough oxygen left in the ball.
“I was worried about whether he could breathe because balls can be dangerous,” he said. “There’s a certain amount of time in which you can breathe. I calmed her down and that’s when my daughter started filming.”
