Documentation: Drifted 5 Days in the Ocean on a Cooler Tank – and Rescued Alive

Two fishermen from Mexico, Daniel Guerrero Martínez (53) and José Luis Portela Villegas (32), drifted in the Pacific Ocean for five days inside a cooler tank after their boat sank. The Mexican Navy located them 240 km off the coast of Chiapas and rescued them. They were evacuated to a hospital with severe dehydration.

The Mexican Navy released footage of the rescue of two fishermen who drifted in the Pacific Ocean for five days inside a cooler tank, without food or water. Daniel Guerrero Martínez (53) and José Luis Portela Villegas (32) went fishing on August 14 from a small town near the border with Guatemala. Their boat drifted and sank due to stormy weather and strong winds, and they managed to climb into a cooler tank that was on board. Last contact with them was recorded on August 14. The cooperative they belong to alerted the Mexican Navy after they failed to return. After days of searching, on August 19 they were spotted floating inside the blue tank about 240 kilometers off the coast of Chiapas. A patrol ship sailed to the area, brought them on board, and transferred them to shore. At the hospital, they were diagnosed with severe dehydration, and after treatment they were reunited with their families. The article also notes additional survival stories from Latin America: the rescue of a man after 15 days in an underwater cave, and the story of a fisherman who drifted for 13 months at sea.