Beachgoer Swept Out to Sea, Rescued 36 Hours Later 50 Miles Away

Talk about scary.

As summer heats up, revelers around the world are hitting the beach to soak up some sun and waves. One woman in Japan, however, got much more than she bargained for earlier this week. 

According to The Japan Times, it all started when a Chinese woman in her 20s was at Shirahama Ohama beach in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture with a friend. The two reportedly went into the water around 7:30 p.m. local time, but less than half an hour later, the situation became worrisome after the woman disappeared. 

"It was around 7.55 p.m. on July 8 when we received the information after the woman’s friend reported to a nearby convenience store that she was missing," a local Japan Coast Guard official said, per The Guardian. 

The woman remained missing all of July 9 before a cargo ship spotted her in the early morning hours of July 10, about 36 hours after she drifted out to sea. Per The Japan Times, two crew members aboard the ship jumped into the ocean and rescued the woman approximately 50 miles offshore. She was dehydrated when they found her around 8 a.m. local time and she was taken to a hospital in Yokohama. 

Per the AP, she was likely swept out to sea by an underwater current and winds coming off the nearby mountains. On top of that, she was swimming with a rubber ring, possibly making it harder to swim. 

If you're at the beach this summer, make sure you exercise caution when swimming and heed any current warnings.