Two fishermen have been found alive in the Pacific Ocean after five days adrift at sea, with the pair found floating in a giant cooler box by the navy.
Daniel Guerrero Martínez and José Luis Portelas Villegas set sail from Paredón, in Mexico’s Chiapas state, last Thursday (August 13) to fish in the Pacific Ocean. They fell out of radio contact last Friday (August 14) when they were around 75 miles from the coast.
Search and Rescue Operation
The missing fishermen sparked a mass sea and air search, with boats launched to retrace their last known route and authorities in Mexico deploying aircraft to scour the sea from the sky. But they came back empty handed until now.
Five days later, on Wednesday (August 19), the fishermen, aged 53 and 32, were located by 130 nautical miles off the coast by naval personnel, having sought refuge in a giant cooler box.
Official Statement and Medical Condition
A spokesperson from Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy confirmed the two men had been rescued in a statement. “Two fishermen who spent five days adrift on a cool box were located and rescued by naval personnel more than 240km off the coast of Chiapas,” the spokesperson said. “The deployment of surface and air units under the Trinomio concept [ship–interceptor–aircraft] made it possible to expand the search, locate the fishermen, bring them to safety and reunite them with their families.”
They are understood to be suffering from severe dehydration but are otherwise fine. They were airlifted from the naval vessel that rescued them and back to port, where they received medical attention before being handed over to their families in Paredón.
Investigation Into Cause
Authorities are now investigating what caused the men’s fishing boat to stray so far from their usual route, with initial reports suggesting wind and wild weather may have played a part in causing them to drift so far. It is currently unclear whether the fishing boat sank, broke down, drifted away or was otherwise lost.
