KALMAR, Sweden, June 4 (UPI) -- Swedish authorities said a drunken sailor who thought his wife had fallen overboard forgot she had never been on the boat.

Authorities said the man called emergency services Thursday morning while sailing near Kalmar and said he feared his wife had fallen from his sailboat and drowned, but rescuers soon learned the man was drunk and his wife had not been with him on the boating trip, The Local reported Friday.


The rescue team towed the boat, which had a broken tiller, back to shore, and police administered a breath test confirming the man was intoxicated.

The man was arrested on a charge of boating while intoxicated.