Fisherman rescued after 95 days adrift in the Pacific

A 61-year-old Peruvian fisherman has been rescued after spending 95 days adrift at sea off the southern coast of Ecuador. He had been hanging on to life for months by eating whatever he could catch, and was in critical condition when found.

Maximo Napa (right) received a hero’s welcome on his return to shore in Peru after 95 days lost at sea.

Maximo Napa, 61, set off from the city of Marcona, Peru on December 7. He was planning to spend two weeks at sea to fish, and had supplies for the journey. 10 days into the trip, he encountered a storm and his skiff’s engine failed, leaving him adrift.

Without an an onboard emergency radio beacon, or EPIRB, he had no way to send a distress signal for help. He ran out of food and water, and ate insects, birds and a turtle in order to stay alive; he relied solely on rainwater for his drinking water supply, when it was available at all.

While he was adrift, his family held out hope that he might still be rescued, even as the days turned into weeks and months. “Every day is anguish for the whole family and I understand my grandmother’s pain, because as a mother, I understand her,” said Napa’s daughter, Ines Napa Torres, in a Facebook post. “We never thought we would go through this situation, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. We will not lose hope, Dad, of finding you.”

An Ecuadorian fishing patrol boat found Napa at last on March 11, adrift at a position about 600 nautical miles off the coast of Ecuador. He was severely dehydrated, and he was taken ashore in critical condition and delivered to a hospital in Paita, Peru; he was given IV treatment to nurse him back to health, and was discharged from the hospital on the 15th. He was flown to Lima for a joyous reunion with his mother and the rest of his family.

Napa’s family has complained that Peruvian authorities did too little to find the fisherman when he went missing. “It took three months of constant struggle for the entire family to search on our own, and even to the point of pleading with the authorities to continue the search,” his sister Flor Napa told Diario Correo. “We didn’t see the proper commitment to this, and I feel disappointed in the local and national authorities for not providing support in these cases.”

She added: “We thank God for the Ecuadorians who saved him.”

Peruvian authorities said that without an EPIRB, it was impossible to locate Napa. “I think it was a fortuitous event that he was found. Not having a radio beacon made the work a bit difficult,” Paita naval base commander Jorge Calizaya told Ecuavisa.