Five fishermen rescued after 55 days adrift at sea in a stranded trawler
Five crew members from the Peruvian fishing vessel Mi Juanita, which went missing in March in the Pacific Ocean, have been rescued in Ecuadorian territorial waters, authorities in Ecuador confirmed on Thursday.
In brief
Five crew members of the Peruvian fishing boat Mi Juanita have been rescued in Ecuadorian territorial waters after the vessel went missing in March in the Pacific Ocean. The fishing boat Mi Juanita set out on 12 March from a port in the Pucusana district, and three days later the crew sent a last message about an engine failure. Four Peruvian citizens and one Colombian were on board, and the vessel kept moving thanks to sails made by the fishermen themselves. The families of the missing accused the Peruvian authorities of inaction in the search.
According to the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, the rescued men are crew members of the vessel that departed for a fishing expedition on March 12 from a port in the Pucusana district on Peru's central coast. Three days later, the fishermen sent their last message, reporting engine failure.
Ecuadorian authorities stated that the vessel was carrying four Peruvian nationals and one Colombian at the time it was found.
Rescue services revealed that the trawler had been drifting but was still moving, thanks to makeshift sails the fishermen had fashioned themselves.
It remains unclear how the men managed to survive for nearly two months at sea, including how they sourced food and fresh water during the ordeal.
On Thursday, families of the missing fishermen accused the Peruvian government of inaction and negligence, saying officials had failed to carry out proper search and rescue efforts. Relatives claimed they had repeatedly organized their own searches along the Peruvian coast since March.
Source: PAP / Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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