Mummified body of adventurer found sitting at desk of vessel drifting at sea for 20 years

This is the mummified body of a German adventurer who was found dead drifting on his abandoned yacht at the weekend off the coast of southe Philippines.

Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, was discovered by two fishermen aboard his yacht in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Barobo town in Surigao del Sur.

His body was sitting near to the radio telephone as if he was trying one last desperate Mayday call to save himself when he died.

 

His body was found near to the radio telephone as if he was trying one last desperate Mayday call to save himself when he died

Christopher Rivas, 23, a resident of P-4 Poblacion, in Barobo, was fishing together with a friend nearly 40 miles from the coast when he spotted the yacht, painted white and whose sail was broken from afar.

The 40-foot long yacht, named SAYO, had been cruising around the world for the past 20 years.

Inside the cabin, much of which was underwater, were found photo albums, clothes and tins of food strewn all around. 

It is unclear how long Manfred, who has been identified thanks to paperwork on board, has been dead or what killed him.

A friend told BILD that he last heard of him one year ago on Facebook for his birthday.   

Dry ocean winds, hot temperatures and the salty air helped preserve his body.

Police are trying to retrace his last voyages and find the last people to speak with him.

He broke up with his wife in 2008, who had been on his travels with him, and she later died from cancer.

In 2009 in Mallorca he met another world sailer called Dieter who told Germany'v BILD newspaper: 'He was a very experienced sailor. I don't believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead.'

His body was taken for an autopsy in Butuan City, the yacht was towed for a police inspection into the port of Barobo.

Police spokeswoman Goldie Lou Siega in the Philippines said; 'We have no evidence of a second person aboard and no weapon was found on the yacht.'

Dr Mark Benecke, a forensic criminologist in the city of Cologne, told BILD: 'The way he is sitting seems to indicate that death was unexpected, perhaps from a heart attack.'

The German embassy in Manila is working with local officials to trace his family in Germany. It is believed he has a daughter called Nina who works as the captain of a freight vessel.