Woman rescued off Barcelona after drifting at sea for eight hours

A woman has been rescued off Barcelona after spending eight hours adrift at sea in the dark overnight, rescue officials said Monday.

The 29-year-old was taken out of the water by the crew of the cargo ship around 4 am on Monday, almost four kilometres off the coast of Spanish city, the sea rescue service said.

She swam to the ship and called loudly for help, it said. The crew threw her a lifebelt and then brought her on board. The woman is fine. After a brief examination, she was discharged from the hospital.

The authorities were alerted by a bather on Sunday evening. The man said a woman near him went into the water at Sant Miquel beach in Barcelona around 8 pm and hadn't returned after more than an hour.

The police, the fire brigade and the sea rescue service then immediately started the search with ships and a helicopter.

But this was unsuccessful and, according to official information, was temporarily stopped around 2 am.

Before the planned resumption at dawn, however, she was rescued by the crew of the cargo ship.

When she went swimming, the woman left her cell phone and her dog on the beach. After her rescue, the woman said she had been pushed out to sea by the current, state television broadcaster RTVE reported, citing the authorities.

It was said that she had to be a very good swimmer to last so long. The woman did not have a swimming aid. "She wasn't wearing a vest or a rubber suit, just a two-piece swimsuit," said Gerardo Gante, head of Barcelona's sea rescue service.

The water of the Mediterranean Sea, which is currently around 30 degrees Celsius, probably helped her to survive.