Héctor Márquez, known as “Chico” among fishermen in Puerto Ángel, went out fishing in the early hours of Monday, August 31, with enough fuel for only a few hours. Eight days later, he was found alive hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Oaxaca by a vessel from the Mexican Navy. At the time of his rescue, he only showed signs of dehydration.
The fisherman set out alone in a small boat approximately four meters long to search for sailfish off the coast of Oaxaca. When he did not return by nightfall, his family raised the alarm, and his fellow fishermen began an informal search that continued for several days.
On Sunday, a merchant cargo ship spotted him about 150 nautical miles, equivalent to around 250 kilometers offshore. The crew took photographs of him, provided him with food and fuel, and recorded his coordinates, information that was later shared to facilitate his location. However, Márquez decided not to board the cargo ship, apparently because he preferred to wait for a rescue by his own community.
The Mexican Navy activated a maritime search-and-rescue operation from the first day, involving coastal and interceptor patrol boats, Defender-type vessels, Persuader and King Air aircraft, as well as specialized personnel. On Monday, the Monte Albán vessel finally located him approximately 481 kilometers south of Huatulco.
The fisherman had intended to catch a sailfish off the coast of Oaxaca. According to his own account, while bringing in one of these fish, he lost sight of the coast and the currents carried him out to sea. “I stayed there and the current pulled me outward; I went through four storms out there at sea. Thank God I didn’t sink,” he recounted upon his return, according to national media.
Héctor faced extreme survival conditions: on Tuesday, the second day of his disappearance, he caught a sea turtle. “I had to kill it, drink the blood, eat the turtle,” he recounted. Over four days, he ate six turtles and drank their blood to stay hydrated.
The fisherman’s health is stable, and he only suffered from dehydration after eight days adrift, a period during which he was exposed to extreme conditions at sea.
Source: debate
