A 19-year-old Indonesian teenager named Aldi Novel Adilang survived an almost unbelievable 49 days lost at sea and his story stunned the world.
Aldi was working alone on a small floating fishing hut, called a rompong, off the coast of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, when a powerful storm snapped the rope anchoring it to the seabed.
With no engine, no paddle, and limited supplies, he was slowly carried out into the open ocean.
Within days, his food ran out. To survive, Aldi began catching fish and cooking them over a small fire. Fresh water became his biggest challenge. He relied on rainwater, sometimes wringing water from soaked clothes after rainfall. Several ships passed him, but none noticed the tiny hut drifting in the vast sea.
Throughout the ordeal, Aldi later said that prayer and reading his Bible gave him strength and helped him fight despair when rescue seemed impossible.
After nearly seven weeks adrift, a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship finally spotted him near waters approaching Guam and pulled him to safety. Miraculously, he survived.
Aldi’s story is a powerful reminder of human resilience, faith, and the will to survive against overwhelming odds.
