Two fishermen have been rescued after spending five days adrift in the Pacific Ocean, with the pair found alive inside a giant cooler box more than 130 nautical miles off the coast.
Daniel Guerrero Martínez and José Luis Portelas Villegas had set off from Paredón in Mexico's Chiapas state on Thursday, August 13, intending to fish in the Pacific. The pair lost radio contact the following day, while they were around 75 miles offshore.
Search and Rescue Operation
Their disappearance sparked a major search operation, with boats sent out to retrace their last known route while aircraft scoured the surrounding waters. The search initially failed to locate the men, leaving their families fearing the worst.
However, five days later, on Wednesday, naval personnel finally spotted the fishermen more than 130 nautical miles from the coast. The men, aged 53 and 32, had reportedly taken refuge inside a giant cooler box as they battled to survive at sea.
Confirmation and Rescue
Mexico's Secretariat of the Navy confirmed that the pair had been found and rescued. A spokesperson for the Secretariat of the Navy said: "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 added that surface and air units had been deployed as part of the search operation, allowing rescuers to locate the men, bring them to safety and reunite them with their families.
Medical Condition and Investigation
The fishermen were reportedly suffering from severe dehydration but were otherwise in a stable condition. After being rescued, they were taken from the naval vessel and airlifted back to port, where they received medical treatment before being reunited with their families in Paredón.
Authorities are now investigating why the men's fishing boat ended up so far from its expected route. Early reports suggest strong winds and difficult weather conditions could have contributed to the fishermen drifting hundreds of miles from the coast. It remains unclear what happened to their boat, including whether it sank, broke down, drifted away from them or was otherwise lost at sea.
