Two Mexican fishermen have been miraculously rescued after spending five days adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surviving without food or water while clinging to a portable ice chest. They were identified by a Mexican Navy unit about 240 kilometers from the coast of the state of Chiapas, in the south-east of the country.
Drifting on the fridge
The two men, 54-year-old Daniel Guerrero Martinez and 37-year-old José Luis Portelas, both originally from the community of Paredón, in the municipality of Tonalá, had gone out to sea aboard the “Camaronera” boat. The last radio contact with their fishing cooperative was last Friday. During the following night, a highly intense anomalous wave hit the ship, causing it to sink in just a few seconds. The survivors managed to survive only by clinging to the refrigerator container and some empty petrol cans.
“We didn’t touch food or drink a drop of water until Wednesday,” Portelas said immediately after the rescue. Guerrero Martinez confessed that he feared the worst: “I thought I would never see my family again.”
Recovery at sea
The scorching sun and severe dehydration were now jeopardizing their survival when, exhausted, the two managed to attract the attention of a reconnaissance plane by waving a bag.
The Navy soldiers, who had activated the searches following a report from their colleagues from the cooperative, then recovered them and urgently transferred them to Puerto Chiapas, where they underwent the necessary medical treatment. Shocked by the terrible experience, the 54-year-old Martinez has already announced his intention to leave the business permanently and retire.