Aussie fisherman lucky to be alive after being dragged from boat by big marlin

An Aussie fisherman is lucky to be alive after getting dragged from the boat by a big marlin he hooked, Australia's national broadcaster reported Wednesday.

The man was fishing 30 nautical miles offshore from Exmouth in Western Australia state when he was pulled from his boat which continued on without him. While another fisherman had alerted the authorities when spotting his boat traveling at speed without a driver, he was only rescued six hours later by another fisherman passing nearby.

The commander of the local volunteer marine rescue group Rusty Ellis told the ABC the man, who was transferred to a hospital suffering shock and severe hypothermia, was incredibly lucky to be found alive.

"You're talking about a microscopic pin dot in the middle of nowhere," Ellis said, adding that people need to be "extra careful" when fishing alone at sea.

"For somebody to find him in time was a wonderful thing and I'm very very grateful for the assistance of everybody, for dropping everything they were doing."

On the other side of Australia, however, authorities on Wednesday morning found what they believe is the body of an 80-year-old man who failed to return from a fishing trip on Tuesday.

The authorities believe the man may have drowned after falling out of his small boat while fishing in the Bewong Creek, approximately 195 km south of Sydney in New South Wales state. Endit