Castaway who survived 13 months at sea set to fly home from Marshall Islands

Castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga was set to depart the Marshall Islands on Monday for his homeland of El Salvador after medics cleared him to travel, a source familiar with the situation said.

The fisherman, who says he survived 13 months adrift on the Pacific Ocean, needed a green light from doctors after suffering from ill-health in the wake of his ordeal, which ended when he washed up on a remote atoll 12 days ago.

Officials have imposed a media blackout around the exhausted survivor since he conducted a flurry of interviews soon after arriving in Majuro, but a source said he was expected to leave Monday night on a flight bound for Hawaii.

From there, he will travel to El Salvador, most likely via the US West Coast, to be reunited with the family who had long thought he was dead.

The 37-year-old has been in and out of hospital since arriving in Majuro, suffering from dehydration and a range of ailments linked to surviving on a diet of raw fish and bird flesh, with only turtle blood and his own urine to drink.

Alvarenga said last week that his crewmate – named as 24-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba – could not stomach such foodstuffs and did not survive the 12,500-kilometre trip from Mexico.

The Salvadoran appeared in good health when he first arrived in Majuro but has since complained of back pain, swollen joints and lethargy.