Teachers raised the alarm after the 11-year-old boy didn’t turn up for school, and a day later he was found floating in the sea hanging onto a large piece of polystyrene
A terrified boy was found drifting alone in the ocean on a huge polystyrene block a day after failing to turn up at school.
The 11-year-old primary school pupil didn’t attend class on Tuesday morning, and concerned by his rare absence, his teacher attempted to contact his parents but received no answer.
The boy, known only by his surname Tsou, had previously been identified by social services as coming from a vulnerable family, and a welfare check was carried out at the family home. Despite repeated knocks on the door, nobody responded, prompting police to issue a missing-person alert.
That afternoon, while the search was underway, a fisherman spotted a boy floating in the sea at the mouth of the Zhonggang River off Zhunan Township, Taiwan, atop a piece of polystyrene.
He immediately called police and coastguard officers rushed to the scene and managed to bring the boy, later confirmed to be Tsou, safely back to shore in an emergency rescue operation.
After the rescue, they contacted his father, who works in Hsinchu, and arranged for him to collect the child.
Initial investigations suggest Tsou may have travelled alone from neighbouring Houlong Township to the seaside area to play.
The exact circumstances and his motive remain under investigation. The Miaoli County Government’s Education Department has since become involved and is providing counselling and support for both the boy and his parents.
Two years ago, a boy was found inside a large bubble out at sea by an alarmed sailor who was with his family in a boat.
Rafael Graça do Prado, then 32, was on a boat trip with his children when he saw the bizarre object floating in the water off Lazaro Beach in Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 24.
Footage shows the transparent bubble in the sea with the young boy, aged around eight, inside.
He is understood to have been playing with his parents on the beach inside the bubble which was held by a rope to stop it from blowing away. But the rope had snapped and the boy drifted out to sea where thankfully he was spotted by Rafael. He explained that his main concern was whether there was enough oxygen inside the ball.
“I was worried about whether he was able to breathe or not because the balls can be dangerous,” he said. “There is a certain amount of time that you can breathe inside it. I calmed him down, and that was when my daughter started filming.”
