Two fishermen rescued a naked refugee they saw sitting on a tree branch in an Australian crocodile habitat. Cam Faust said on Wednesday he and his fellow recreational fisherman Kev Joiner heard Luke Voskresensky, 40, scream for help on Sunday as they placed scrap traps from their dinghy in mangroves on the outskirts of the northern city of Darwin.
Faust said Voskresensky – who was covered in mud, cuts and insect bites – explained that he had been lost for four days, survived by eating snails and used his clothes ‘for pieces on the go’.
“It did not make sense to us,” Faust said, referring to the explanation for his nudity. “He had a nest made in the tree, and he was only a meter (39 centimeters) above the water and there were hooks in the water, so he did well to survive.”
Joiner said the friends hesitated before bringing Voskresensky on board.
“We once saw how bad he was and how many cuts he had over him and he was dehydrated and pretty weak … we thought we could get him better in the boat,” Joiner said.
“We thought he should have just had a big night after New Year and got lost and committed a mischief in the woods,” he added.
According to Faust, he stripped to underwear and handed over his pants and a beer to Voskresensky when the trio returned to Darwin.
“He looked like he needed a beer, even though he was bad,” Faust said.
An ambulance was waiting on their arrival at a Darwin driveway. Voskresensky was taken to a Darwin hospital, where he was placed under police guard while being treated for exposure.
Police said Voskresensky was released on bail after being charged with armed robbery, multiple aggravated assault, deprivation of liberty and theft. But he cut off his electronic monitoring device last week and tried to evade police.
Because he was admitted to the hospital, Voskresensky was excused from court on Tuesday for facing new charges of breach of bail and serious assault, court official Xavier La Canna said.
Voskresensky will appear in court next time on February 9, La Canna said.
According to Faust, he decided not to visit Voskresensky in the hospital after discovering that he was wanted by the police.