A German yachtsman who was recently swept away by huge tides in New Zealand credited his jeans for saving his life. Brothers Helge and Arne Murke were transporting a sailboat from New Zealand to Brazil when one of them fell into the water. 30-year-old Arne fell after being unexpectedly hit by the yacht's boom and winds took far off. The incident happened 17 miles off Tolaga Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand's north island, on March 6.

His brother immediately threw a life jacket, but Arne was carried far off by the waves. However, he knew a trick to keep himself floating in the rough sea. He took off his jeans, tied knots at the end of the legs and kept them over water for the air to pass inside. It acted as a life vest keep Arne afloat until the rescue helicopter arrived. Video of Man Walking Away Unhurt Hit by a Truck Goes Viral: Here Are Similar Unbelievable Accidents Where People Survived.

Watch Arne being rescued in a helicopter below:

He told the New Zealand Herald, "Luckily, I knew the trick with the jeans. Without the jeans I wouldn't be here today, they were really the thing that saved me.  I took a deep breath, took out my jeans, made knots at the end of the legs and inflated the jeans; pull it over water and get air inside and then push it under water - I had like an improvised life vest." The helicopter located him around three and a half hours after he fell into the sea from the ship. Photos and videos of Arne's rescue have gone viral on social media with a lot of them exclaiming at how jeans kept a man alive.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2019 02:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).