Mumbai, Oct. 9: An Italian man and an Israeli woman adrift on a raft in the Indian Ocean have been rescued off the coast of Kochi after an eight-day fight for survival.

Pierpaolo Mori, 35, and Libi Belozerzki, 27, left the Maldives on September 24 on a two-week voyage towards the Red Sea.

But their plans of a holiday on board Gigo 2, their 15-metre yacht, capsized two days later when they ran into hostile winds and rough weather.

As their yacht leaked and sank, the two were reduced to floating on a life raft. They fought the waves and survived on emergency rations and water they had stocked before being spotted 650 miles off the coast of Kochi by a Belgian tug, Moore, and rescued on October 3. The tug crew later handed them over to the Indian Coast Guard.

The pair, severely dehydrated and sick, had lost all documents, including their passports. They were treated for dehydration and skin problems at a hospital in Kochi before returning home.