The sacrifice of a mother who moves Venezuela: she died dehydrated after breastfeeding her children to save them from a shipwreck

The name of Mariely Chacon has become synonymous with love and sacrifice in Venezuela. This 40-year-old woman has been found died in a small boat with her two children two and six years old and their ñiñera, after three days of drifting in the Caribbean Sea.

The tragedy began on Friday, September 3, when a group of friends boarded a boat named Thor on their way from Higuerote to Tortuga Island in Miranda state. What was supposed to be a fun weekend turned into a nightmare when a big wave split the hull of the boat, causing a shipwreck which, to date, has left five people missing.

Chacón, her children and the nanny were found three days later. According to local media, as rescue teams approached, they found the children hugging their mother’s lifeless body and the nanny, Verónica Martínez, 25, in a refrigerator.

According to the forensic report, the young mother suffered a breakdown of your vital organs due to acute dehydration. Her children as a nanny were also found to be severely dehydrated and with first degree sunburns.

It was the nanny who later told authorities that Chacón, who was breastfeeding her two-year-old son, drank their own urine so they could breastfeed their children and keep them alive. He said he died hours before they were found on the high seas.

He also explained that the men improvised rafts to protect the women and children on board and tried to accompany them for swimming.

Thousands of people attended Chacón’s funeral

On September 11, Chacón’s funeral was held in Caracas.

The vigil was broadcast live on the YouTube platform so that loved ones could virtually accompany the ceremony. According to local media, the agitation generated by the affair was such that some 5,000 people attended the ceremony at living. The clip on the social network has already accumulated more than 60,000 views.

While, research work continues “By land, sea and air” in the Caribbean, where they hope to find the other missing, including the father of the children, Remis Clambor. The other missing are the marriage of Alejandro Osorio Graterol and Vianney Carolina Dos Santos Morales, as well as José Javier Marcano Narváez, a friend of the family.

Emily Dos Santos, Vianney’s twin, asked authorities not to stop the search because “They are having a hard time getting home.”