Leonardo DiCaprio saves man who was drifting for 11 hours after falling overboard

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who had been the subject of Ricky Gervais' age-gap joke at the Golden Globes, became a real-life hero by saving a drowning man. The Oscar winner had been on a leisure trip on his luxury vessel in the Caribbean when he decided to respond to a distress call. DiCaprio's vessel successfully searched and rescued a man who had gone overboard and had been treading water for 11 hours.

A Club Med yacht lost one of their crew members near St Martin after he went overboard. By the time the captain of the yacht had sent out a distress signal, the crew member, identified by his first name Victor, could not be located by the vessel. With a storm setting in, there were very few vessels in the area.

After the Mayday call went out. DiCaprio decided that his vessel would join the search even though they were hours away from where Victor had gone overboard.

The 45-year-old actor had taken his 22-year-old girlfriend, Camila Morrone, and a few other friends for a joy ride on his vessel when the call came on December 30. A source told The Sun that the captain had stated the chances of finding the man was one in a billion, which is equivalent to winning the lottery twice. The source also claimed that DiCaprio's boat was the only one searching for the 24-year-old Frenchman.

DiCaprio's vessel set sail to search the area near the island of St Barts. The crew managed to spot the desperate man flailing his arms near Saba island. DiCaprio watched as his crew rescued the man from the water.

According to Victor, he had been drunk and tired when he lost his balance and went overboard. He had struggled to stay afloat without any aid for 11 hours. A source claimed that Victor was at the brink of drowning from exhaustion when DiCaprio's crew rescued him. Aboard the rescuer's vessel, the severely dehydrated man received food, water, and dry clothes.

After the rescue, DiCaprio handed Victor over to the coastguard.