A 62-year-old Frenchman escaped death after being caught in an air bubble inside his sailboat that capsized in the Atlantic Ocean before being rescued by Spanish Coast Guard divers in what they called “almost impossible” operation.

The Coast Guard said the 12-metre-high vessel issued a distress call at 8:23 pm Monday from a distance of 14 miles from the Cesargas Islands, off the coast of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Tracking data shows that the ship set sail from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, the previous morning.

As the rescue boat, with five divers on board, put to sea, one of three helicopters sent to rescue found the capsized boat at sunset.

One of the divers was lifted above the hull of the boat to look for signs of life. The man inside responded to the diver’s blows on the hull of the boat with a knock from the inside. The man’s name was not mentioned.

Since the sea conditions were so bad that a rescue attempt was impossible, the divers installed buoyant balls on the hull of the boat to prevent further sinking, and waited for the morning.

And two divers swam under the boat to help the sailor, and it turned out that he was wearing a neoprene rubber survival suit, and the water sank his body to the knee.

The man was airlifted to safety, where he was taken to the hospital for necessary checks, but was released without issue shortly thereafter.