Emergency workers with the angler,who was found after nine days lost on the island of Sakhalin (Picture: TASS/Cover Media)

It was meant to be a fishing trip. But instead,a pensioner had to be rescued after a nine-day ordeal which left him too weak to walk.

The 79-year-old had headed out into dense woodland near the remote village of Pilvo on Russia’s Sakhalin Island.

His abandoned car was found in the village and volunteers eventually discovered him on the left bank of the Pilevka River,around half a mile away.

The man was alive but completely exhausted after spending days attempting to cut his way through woodland to safety.

The man had tried to cut his way out of the area and was too weak to walk (Picture: TASS/Cover Media)

He was carried to safety and had been receiving medical treatment (Picture: TASS/Cover Media)

Sign up for all of the latest stories

Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Emergency workers carried him over difficult terrain to safety and he is believed to be recovering.Sakhalin is Russia’s largest island and sits off the east coast close to Japan.It has had a turbulent history and has been passed between the two countries during the last century.It is 589 miles long and 100 miles wide and has a population of around 500,000.The pensioner is now receiving medical treatment (Picture: TASS/Cover Media)Much of the island is mountainous with forests and thick vegetation.In July last year,backpacker Carolina Wilga spent 11 nights lost in the Western Australian Outback.