LOST AT SEA
Salvador Alvarenga was a fisherman living and working in Mexico. He liked fishing and he had a 25-foot long boat. On 17 November 2012, Alvarenga went fishing off the coast of Mexico. Two days later, a storm hit and he sent an SOS to call for help. It was the last anyone heard from him – for 438 days. This is his story.
As an experienced sailor and fisherman, Alvarenga intended to go on a deep-sea fishing during which he hoped to catch sharks, marlins and sailfish. His usual fishing mate couldn’t join him on that day. Instead, he was accompanied by a co-worker called Ezequiel. Ezequiel was 23 years old at the time. They had never talked to each other before.
Shortly after embarking, their boat was blown off course by a storm that lasted five days. The motor of the boat and most of the portable electronics were damaged. Much of the fishing gear was also lost or damaged in the storm, so Alvarenga and Ezequiel were left with some basic supplies and little food. Although they had caught nearly 500 kilograms of fish, they had to throw it overboard to make the boat move easily in bad weather.
Alvarenga managed to call his boss on a radio and ask for help before the radio’s battery died. His boss organised a search party but they failed to find any trace of the missing men. They gave up after two days due to poor visibility. As days became weeks, Alvarenga and Ezequiel learned to find food. Alvarenga managed to catch fish, turtles, jelly fish and seabirds with his bare hands. They collected drinking water from rainfall. According to Alvarenga, Ezequiel lost all hope around four months after becoming sick from the raw food. He eventually died by refusing to eat.
On 30 January 2014, Alvarenga saw a tiny piece of land and swam to shore. He found a beach house owned by a local couple. Alvarenga’s journey lasted 438 days. After 11 days in hospital, he was diagnosed with anaemia. After his ordeal he had trouble sleeping and developed a fear of water. More surprisingly, Ezequiel’s relatives accused him of eating Ezequiel during their long journey.