Two fishermen who went missing at sea for five days have been found alive after being located more than 240 kilometres off the coast of Chiapas, Mexico.
The fishermen, identified as 53-year-old Daniel Guerrero Martínez and 32-year-old José Luis Portelas Villegas, had reportedly set sail from Paredón in Mexico’s Chiapas state on August 13.
The pair made their last radio contact on August 14 while they were about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the coast. Communication was later lost, and concerns grew when they failed to return.
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Authorities launched a search operation in the Pacific Ocean, deploying an aircraft to look for the missing fishermen.
Three boats also departed from Paredón and followed the route believed to have been taken by the fishermen. However, the initial search efforts did not produce any result.
The search eventually came to an end on August 19 when naval personnel located the two men alive about 130 nautical miles (150 miles) off the coast of Chiapas.
The fishermen had reportedly spent five days drifting at sea and managed to survive inside a cool box.
They were said to be suffering from dehydration when they were found. The men were rescued by helicopter and taken for medical attention before being reunited with their families in Paredón.
Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy confirmed the rescue in a statement, saying:
“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 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.”
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