Fisherman miraculously survived lost at sea for eight days without food or water

Fisherman miraculously survived lost at sea for eight days without food or water A fisherman spent eight days adrift at sea after his tiny boat was swept 300 miles out to sea off the coast of Mexico - and survived without any food or water A fisherman has miraculously been rescued alive after spending eight days lost at sea without any food or water. Héctor Márquez Martínez, known as 'Chico', vanished after setting out to fish from Puerto Ángel in Oaxaca state, Mexico. He had headed out aboard his small boat, the Josmarcito, and was expected to be back within a few hours. But when he failed to come home, a desperate search was launched involving relatives, local fishermen, volunteers and the Mexican Navy. He went missing on August 31 and was finally spotted on Sunday when the crew of a cargo ship discovered his tiny vessel around 299 miles south of Huatulco. The crew managed to make contact with the stranded fisherman and provided him with food, water and fuel before passing his location to authorities. But despite finally being found, Héctor’s ordeal was not yet over. Communication difficulties reportedly meant he could not immediately be transferred onto the cargo ship. Oaxaca government secretary Jesús Romero López said efforts continued to bring him to safety. The breakthrough finally came on September 7, when the Mexican Navy’s ARM “Monte Albán” reached his vessel. A Navy spokesperson said: “The ARM Monte Albán located the small vessel and carried out the necessary manoeuvres to recover the fisherman, who was brought to safety and taken aboard the ship.” Remarkably, after eight days adrift at sea, Héctor was found to be in a stable condition. He was suffering from dehydration, and given treatment by Navy medics. Last month, two Mexican fishermen were found alive in the Pacific Ocean after five days found floating in a giant cooler box. Daniel Guerrero Martínez and José Luis Portelas Villegas set sail from Paredón, in Mexico’s Chiapas state on August 13 to fish in the Pacific Ocean. Five days later, on Wednesday, the fishermen, aged 53 and 32, were located by 130 nautical miles off the coast by naval personnel, sitting inside a large food storage unit. A navy spokesperson said: “Two fishermen who spent five days adrift on a cool box were located and rescued by naval personnel more than 240km off the coast of Chiapas. “The deployment of surface and air units under the Trinomio concept [ship–interceptor–aircraft] made it possible to expand the search, locate the fishermen, bring them to safety and reunite them with their families.” They were understood to be suffering from severe dehydration, but are otherwise fine.