Two fishermen in Mexico narrowly survived after their fishing boat encountered an accident and lost contact, forcing them to drift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for five days without food or water before the Mexican Navy found them inside a large ice chest more than 240 kilometers off the coast of Chiapas and safely rescued them.
Two Mexican fishermen were safely rescued after drifting in the Pacific Ocean for up to five days without food or water, sheltering inside a large ice chest, before the Mexican Navy located and rescued them successfully on Wednesday (19 Aug).
The Mexican Navy revealed that the search and rescue operation began on 14 August after the fishermen’s cooperative reported an emergency, unable to contact the two fishermen aged 53 and 32.
Reports state the two left from Paredon city in Chiapas, southern Mexico, on 13 August to fish in the Pacific Ocean but lost radio contact the next day while about 120 kilometers from shore.
The Navy mobilized search efforts by sea and air over a wide ocean area, dispatching ships along the likely route of the fishermen and deploying aircraft for aerial surveillance.
After five days, officials found the two men drifting more than 240 kilometers off the coast of Chiapas, or over 130 nautical miles, near the Guatemala border.
Photos released by the Navy show the two men inside a large blue ice chest floating amid ocean waves. Officials approached by boat, lifted them out of the chest, and brought them aboard safely. The men were severely dehydrated but overall stable, then airlifted back to shore for medical treatment before reuniting with their families.
In a video released by the Navy, one fisherman said they did not expect to survive and could only pray to God and wait for rescue. The other described it as the most difficult experience imaginable and said he wouldn’t wish it on even his worst enemy. Both revealed they neither ate nor drank anything during the five days adrift.
The Mexican Navy stated that this operation reflects their commitment to protecting lives at sea and confirmed that sea and air units worked continuously to locate and rescue the missing fishermen.
Authorities are investigating why the fishermen’s boat drifted hundreds of kilometers off course, preliminarily attributing it to strong winds and bad weather conditions.
However, it remains unclear what exactly happened to the fishing boat—whether it sank, malfunctioned, drifted away from the fishermen, or was lost at sea for other reasons.