Relatives of Argentines who occupied the missing yacht have called for the US Coast Guard to join the search

The family of Renzo Spasiano, the 20-year-old missing since last Tuesday with the four other people he was returning to Mexico with by sea after a humanitarian aid trip to Haiti, demanded that the US Coast Guard be involved in the search given that the other Argentinian who was on board also has the nationality of that country.

The request came shortly after the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy officially joined the search and rescue of the boat, which was last heard on September 28, when it reported that its location was latitude 19. . °, 74.4 N and longitude 084 ° 40.4 ′ W; that is, 130 nautical miles from the island of Cozumel, in the state of Quintana Roo.

“M, either to search for one of its citizens or to help with the search, ”explained Luis Spasiano, Renzo’s father.

The missing Argentines live in Puerto Aventuras, about 10 kilometers from Playa del Carmen, where Juárez owns a yacht business where Spasiano works.

In addition to these two people, the Cuban also traveled on the ship Denis Manuel Fernandez Diaz, 46, and the Mexican Martin Vega Argaez, 44 years old: all were returning home after spending 10 days on a humanitarian mission in Haiti, where they had left food, medicine and even a field hospital.

“We need the US Coast Guard to listen to us and give us their collaborationThis is why we are collecting signatures on Change.org, ”said Spasiano, in dialogue with the Telam agency.

To this end, Renzo’s family and friends have filed a petition on this online activism platform, which In less than 12 hours, he collected more than 3,900 signatures and until the early hours of Monday, he had already collected more than 10,000.

“We ask for the urgent support of the United States Coast Guard to begin, with the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), the search / rescue of the crew of the ship MOI Guadalupe, with registration number 4576714A, who was returning from Haiti after providing humanitarian aid to the victims of the earthquake that hit the country in August, ”says the app.

Spasiano said search tasks continue, to which a Semar aircraft has been added in recent hours, which, along with two ships of that force and a plane hired by the family, are trying to locate the lost crew members. ” all over the Gulf of Mexico ”, although to no avail.

The data was confirmed to Telam by the Argentine consul in Playa del Carmen, Lautaro Filchtinsky, who explained that “the Mexican navy is looking north” to the Gulf, “and the family further south,” but “they are working in coordination” and “in different areas.”

In addition, through the Argentine Embassy in Cuba, the Havana Harbor Master’s Office has also warned Cuban-flagged vessels to report any clues who can help you find the boat. The International Hemingway Yacht Club on this island has also announced that it is joining the operation.

Regarding the various hypotheses treated, Renzo’s father does not believe in that of the technical breakdown, the tropical storm or a possible collision: “Before the ship’s departure (from Mexico, on the way) I helped revise it and it had no technical flawsLater, he arrived in Haiti on time and returned in the same way, sailing in a straight line with very flat seas and the optimal climate, ”he explained.

“In addition, I had all the safety equipment and like, it’s a huge boat, 83 feet, They carried a semi-rigid rescue boat in addition to the rafts and it has two big engines, which if one has a fault, the other continues to function without a problem, ”he said.

On the other hand, the relative of the young disappeared stressed that “the weather is optimal for more than a week”, which he himself was able to corroborate a few days ago when he flew over the coasts of Cuba, ” with perfect visibility and no waves. “

In this sense, he clarified that although “no possibility” is excluded, It is difficult for him to imagine a kidnapping scenario because “there is no piracy in this area”.

“What we do know is that 120 miles before (the seaside resort of) Cozumel, the Spot Truck sent out the last signal, which is a stand-alone satellite device that marks its position every 15 or 20 minutes: it was doing it. has since left Haiti. You can even see the card that fills up in Jamaica and returns to Mexico, ”he said.

Additionally, 15 minutes before getting lost, Spasiano argued that “They had spoken by satellite phone with a captain from Miami who had called them to see how they were coming., and they told him that everything was normal and that they needed 15 or 18 hours to arrive ”.

But as of 12:35 GMT (9:35 Argentina) on Tuesday, September 28, there were no more positioning signals and it disappeared from radar and GPS monitors.

De su hijo, manifestó que había decidido ir en misión humanitaria de una congregación religiosa a Haití porque “es solidario” y estaba muy conmovido por cómo había afectado a los niños del último terremoto que dejó 2.200 muertos y porque “quiere ser marendinero y está aprá ” office.

“Before he left he said, ‘Gordo, I have to go, these boys have nothing.’ And then he told me that he came back with what he was wearing because he gave all his clothes away when he saw that they were naked because they had nothing to wear “, se he remembers.

The trip was organized by volunteers from the Cancun International Rescue Brigade With the Missionaries of the Risen Christ. It took them a week to load the merchandise and equipment they had managed to recover.

After three days of navigation, the MOI Guadalupe arrived at the port of Miragoâne, in the department of Nippes. They brought not only food, but also a field hospital, “medical equipment and supplies to establish a primary medical service” for the commune of L’Asile, where most of the houses were destroyed by the earthquake. .

It was the Mexican episcopate itself that on September 20 issued a statement congratulating the four crew members on their mission.

The MOI Guadalupe belongs to the company Yacht Club Playa which offers private excursions in the paradisiacal waters of the Caribbean Sea, in the bay of Yucatan. As they promote on their website, this is a luxury boat with a capacity of 50 people.

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