A VIETNAMESE man who tried to row 2,000km from Thailand to India to see his wife was placed in custody last Thursday, after being rescued off the Thai coast, said a senior navy official.

Ho Hoang Hung, 37, set off from Phuket in an inflatable rubber dinghy, equipped with water and instant noodles but no navigation system, planning to cross the Bay of Bengal near the start of cyclone season.

A fishing boat found him near the Similan Islands, about 80km off the Thai mainland, last Wednesday and contacted the navy’s maritime security unit, which came and rescued him.

Ho told officials he was trying to reach his wife, who works in Mumbai, after spending two years apart because of Covid travel restrictions, said Captain Pichet Songtan from the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre.

The man was found with no map, compass, GPS or change of clothes, and only a limited amount of water, he added.

Ho initially flown to Bangkok but found that he could not travel on to India without a visa, and so took a bus to Phuket, where he acquired the dinghy.

After setting off on March 5, he was held up by headwinds, making limited progress in the two weeks before he was found.

Thai officials said the man will be returned to Phuket for further questioning.

“We have contacted both the Vietnamese and Indian embassies, but not had a reply yet,” said Pichet. – AFP, March 27, 2022.