A boy of 11 spent more then a week at sea without food or fresh water after being swept away in a boat from a fishing port in Suriname. Rivano Cabenda survived by clinging to a piece of driftwood. He was swept away on the boat which later broke up whilst being dragged by strong currents along the South American coast to Guyana.

Rivano said that he was washed ashore on a remote Island but decided to jump back into the water after not seeing any inhabitants. He was picked up by rescuers hours later.
The ordeal begun when the boy was on a fishing trip with his Uncle, Antonious Van Der Bosch, at the mouth of the Coppename River. When asked to untie some fishing nets he accidentally untied the boat and was quickly dragged to sea.
The boat filled with water and fell apart leaving Rivano only a piece of driftwood to hang onto. He was rescued by fishermen from Guyana and taken ashore. He had seen rescue helicopters but they had failed to spot him.

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