Two fishermen, aged 53 and 32, were found alive and rescued by the Mexican navy on Wednesday after spending five days adrift at sea. The men had been missing since their last communication with their fishing cooperative on Aug. 14, at which time they were aboard a vessel named the Camaronera.
When the cooperative lost contact with the pair, they issued a distress call. In response, the Mexican navy deployed both air and surface assets to conduct a search. This effort eventually located the two men in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 150 miles off the coast of Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico that shares a border with Guatemala.
Official documentation from Mexico's Secretariat of the Navy, including photographs and video, captured the rescue operation. The footage shows the two men sitting inside a blue cooler, which was seen bobbing on the waves as the navy's ocean patrol vessel approached them.
Following their rescue, the fishermen were transported to a port, where they underwent medical evaluations and received further care. Visual records provided by the navy show one of the men being moved on a stretcher and later in a wheelchair, while the other was also seen on a stretcher. Although the navy confirmed that the men were subsequently reunited with their families, no specific details regarding their medical condition were disclosed.
The Mexican navy highlighted the operation as a demonstration of its commitment to safeguarding human life at sea. The agency also utilized the incident to encourage individuals facing maritime emergencies to reach out to the Secretariat of the Navy for assistance.
Dos pescadores que permanecieron cinco días a la deriva sobre una hielera fueron localizados y rescatados por personal naval a más de 240 km de la costa de Chiapas.Mediante el despliegue de unidades de superficie y aéreas bajo el concepto Trinomio (buque–interceptora–aeronave),… pic.twitter.com/ysMhoOCpz1
Dos pescadores que permanecieron cinco días a la deriva sobre una hielera fueron localizados y rescatados por personal naval a más de 240 km de la costa de Chiapas.Mediante el despliegue de unidades de superficie y aéreas bajo el concepto Trinomio (buque–interceptora–aeronave),… pic.twitter.com/ysMhoOCpz1— SEMAR México (@SEMAR_mx) August 20, 2026
