Haunting tale of sailor found MUMMIFIED after being left drifting on an abandoned yacht – and his chilling final message
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THE mummified corpse of a sailor was found perfectly preserved on an abandoned yacht after vanishing for more than a year. A group of fishermen made the grim discovery in the Philippine Sea. Christopher Rivas and his fishermen from the island of Mindanao were about to head home for the day on February 26, 2016 when they spotted a boat drifting in the water.
![[The mummified body of Manfred Fritz Bajorat was found inside his yacht that had been drifting at sea for weeks]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/mummified-body-german-man-found-217782104.jpg?strip=all&w=937)
The battered vessel with a broken mast was partially submerged in the sea 60 miles off the coast of Barobo town in the Surigao del Sur province. It was only when 23-year-old Rivas got onboard and went inside the 40ft yacht that he found the mummified corpse of German seafarer Manfred Fritz Bajorat.
![[The Philippine National Police, police, coast guard and Filipino fishermen inspected the yacht off the southeastern coast of the Philippines after the shocking discovery]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2016-photo-provided-barobo-police-217726426.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The 59-year-old had been missing for over a year but his remains had been perfectly preserved from the moment of his death. Rivas found Bajorat's leathery corpse slumped over a table next to his vessel's radio transmitters. His head was resting on his right arm while his other arm was lying in his lap.
![[A group of fishermen made the shock discovery in the Philippine Sea]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/786331ec-6fd7-496d-b640-c21b48924500.jpg?strip=all&w=916)
Bajorat's legs could be seen sticking out from the side of the table. And the body was perfectly mummified thanks to the dry but salty conditions of the cabin he died in. Peter Vanezis, a forensic pathology professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, explained: "The air, heat, and saltiness of the sea are all very conducive to mummification.".
