He was picked up by a lifeboat. There is no mystery; he had made clear himself multiple times that this is how he was rescued.
Yeah I mean it was an ok article, and I understand we're all trying to make a living, but it could be summarized in one sentence.
"The reporters made up a story and he couldn't convince them to report the truth: that he had been picked up in a lifeboat." Because yes the mystery is solved by knowing he was in a lifeboat, but it's also critical to determine how the falsehood originated.