--- description: His body was found mummified while slumped over a desk inside the vessel title: German Man Dies Mysteriously Aboard Yacht in the Philippines image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72ab06981f6b7ca/69887fb6cd1bba4c106ffa1c/h_52614050.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mummified Body of German Man Found Aboard Yacht Off the Philippines by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 1, 2016 5:49 AM CUT  Filipino fishermen recovering a drifting yacht in the seas off the Philippine town of Barobo, in Surigao del Sur province, on Feb. 27, 2016 Filipino fishermen recovering a drifting yacht in the seas off the Philippine town of Barobo, in Surigao del Sur province, on Feb. 27, 2016Barobo Police Handout//EPA by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 1, 2016 5:49 AM CUT The mummified body of a German man was found on a yacht[ drifting](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35690067 "undefined") in waters off the southern Philippines Monday. The man, identified through documents on board as Manfred Fritz Bajorat, was found 62 miles off the Philippine coastal town of Barobo, the BBC reports. His decomposing body, thought to have been preserved by the heat and salinity of the ocean, was found slumped over a desk in the yacht’s radio room with one hand next to a telephone, photographs posted by local authorities indicated. The timing and cause of the man’s death are not yet known. “It is still a mystery to us,” Inspector Mark Navales, Barobo’s deputy police chief, was quoted as saying. Bajorat had reportedly been sailing around the world on his yacht for the past 20 years, [reports](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/mummified-body-of-german-man-found-in-yacht-adrift-off-philippines "undefined") the _Guardian._ Authorities are now attempting to contact Bajorat’s friends and family, in order to obtain further clues about his travels and last contact with the outside world. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35690067 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4242536/philippines-german-yacht-dead-body-mummified/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4242536/philippines-german-yacht-dead-body-mummified/"},"headline":"Mummified Body of German Man Found Aboard Yacht Off the Philippines","datePublished":"2016-03-01T05:49:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:29:28.471Z","description":"His body was found slumped over a desk in the yacht's radio room","url":"https://time.com/4242536/philippines-german-yacht-dead-body-mummified/","keywords":["Philippines","Investigation","Dead","german","Body"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72ab06981f6b7ca/69887fb6cd1bba4c106ffa1c/h_52614050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc72ab06981f6b7ca/69887fb6cd1bba4c106ffa1c/h_52614050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"German national found dead inside a drifting yacht in the southern Philippines","caption":"German national found dead inside a drifting yacht in the southern Philippines","creditText":"Barobo Police Handout//EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4242536/philippines-german-yacht-dead-body-mummified/","name":"Mummified Body of German Man Found Aboard Yacht Off the Philippines"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Pet Mummy Rises: Company Offers to Mummify Pets for Eternity","description":"Sorceress Cagliastro mummifies pets for owners who want to keep them for eternity. 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