This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A U.S. citizen has been detained in Russia’s Far Eastern region of Chukotka after apparently accidentally sailing across the Bering Sea in a small boat.
Russian officials on August 3 reported that a U.S. citizen identified either as John Martin or John William had been boating on the Yukon River in Alaska when he ended up in the open sea and, after several days in bad weather, was washed up in Russia on August 1.
He was reportedly in good health despite the ordeal.
An unidentified Russian official told the TASS state news agency that Martin had not asked for political asylum, as earlier media reports had indicated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok had been informed of the incident.
