Mexican Navy rescues two fishermen adrift in cooler box for five days off Chiapas
Two Mexican fishermen were rescued by naval forces 240 kilometres off the coast of Chiapas on 19 August after surviving five days adrift inside a floating fish cooler without food or drinking water.
Sinking of the Camaronera
Two commercial fishermen set out on 13 August 2026 from the coastal community of Paredón in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas aboard a shrimp vessel named Camaronera. The journey turned into a sudden maritime disaster overnight when a wave crashed over the boat at approximately 03:00 local time. The vessel began taking on water immediately and sank beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean in less than five minutes.
With the ship going down in total darkness, the crew had no time to send an emergency transmission, salvage communication radios, or grab rations and potable water. Their only available survival option was a large blue cooler box installed on the deck, which was ordinarily used to store caught fish. The fishermen dumped the contents into the sea and climbed into the container as the boat disappeared.
The only thing we could do was empty the cooler box and climb inside.
Five days adrift in the Pacific
The two men, identified as 53-year-old Daniel Guerrero Martínez and José Luis Portelas Villegas (recorded as 32 in naval releases and 35 in regional reports), drifted into open ocean currents. For five days, the pair remained trapped inside the floating plastic container without food, fishing gear, or fresh drinking water while exposed to intense tropical sunlight.
Dehydration and extreme heat rapidly threatened their survival as weather conditions remained completely dry throughout the ordeal. In video testimony recorded following their rescue, Guerrero explained that no rain fell during their five days adrift, leaving them without any water to collect. He stated that the scorching sun nearly killed them as hope began to fade.
I thought I would never see my family again.
Naval search and rescue mission
Back onshore, the local fishing cooperative grew concerned after failing to establish radio contact with the Camaronera following its departure. The cooperative officially alerted emergency authorities on 15 August, triggering a formal distress call and launching a search operation led by the Mexican Navy.
Naval commanders deployed a fleet of surface patrol ships and surveillance aircraft to search the surrounding Pacific waters. Over the subsequent four days, search teams progressively expanded the operational grid further offshore as prevailing ocean currents pushed the buoyant box away from the mainland.
- Fishermen depart from Paredón aboard the shrimp boat Camaronera
- A wave strikes the boat, causing it to sink in less than five minutes
- Fishing cooperative alerts authorities after losing contact with the crew
- Mexican Navy spots the cooler box 240 kilometres off Chiapas and rescues both men
Recovery and reunion in Puerto Chiapas
On Wednesday, 19 August, naval spotters detected the small blue container drifting roughly 240 kilometres (130 nautical miles, or 150 miles) off the coast of Chiapas. A naval patrol vessel intercepted the cooler box, safely pulled both men from the ocean, and provided emergency medical stabilization.
The survivors were then transported by military helicopter to the port facilities at Puerto Chiapas for full medical examinations. Official naval video footage documented the men sitting inside the cooler on the open sea and their subsequent arrival at the harbour, where family members gathered in tears to receive them.
