Serb tourist rescued off Albania after ordeal at sea

PODGORICA, Aug. 10 – A Serb tourist was rescued by fishermen off the coast of Albania after surviving 24 hours in the sea holding onto a volleyball, Montenegrin media reported.
Dusan Kekic, a 23-year-old medical student from Belgrade, was playing volleyball with four friends when sudden waves and currents carried them away from the beach of Ada Bojana, in southern Montenegro. Three of the men were quickly rescued by a tourist boat – but not Kekic, who floated further away holding on to the ball, the DPA news agency reports.
“That ball saved me, without it I could not have endured the water,” Kekic told Vijesti, a Montenegrin newspaper.
He said he remained calm and tried to reach the coast several times as he floated south, but the current, wind and waves hampered his attempts. Night fell without anybody spotting him and he became disoriented.
“I thought about the things I like and hummed my favourite songs,” Kekic recounted.
He floated some 20 kilometers to the south, across Montenegro’s maritime border with Albania and was finally spotted by fishermen on Sunday afternoon.
“Had they arrived a little later, I think it would have been too late. I was utterly exhausted,” Kekic said.
He returned to Montenegro on Monday and continued his vacation, the report said.