After a week adrift in the Pacific, they rescue three Ecuadorians in Colombian waters

Using an improvised candle, Three Ecuadorian fishermen who were allegedly attacked by pirates in neighboring waters, managed to reach the Colombian maritime zone, where they were rescued by the coast guard. of the Colombian Navy.

As the Colombian newspaper El Espectador reports, the fishermen had left on February 12 from the Ecuadorian coast and when they were at work, they were intercepted by armed men who were mobilized in another boat.

“We were fishing 50 miles from Esmeraldas (Ecuador) and there the pirates arrived, intercepted us, took our engines and everything they could take. Thanks be to God, we have reached the coast of Colombia “said one of the affected men.

According to information from the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, the country’s navy said its compatriots had been attacked by three armed men who were mobilizing in a ship with two 75 horsepower outboard motors.

No way to return the fishermen improvised a sail that allowed them to reach Colombian waters, near the coast of Tumaco (Nariño), in southwestern Colombia.

“According to this version delivered by the rescued, this act of theft at sea was recorded in Ecuadorian waters. When they were adrift, the three men raised an improvised sail which, with the help of the wind and sea currents, enabled them to get to Colombian waters “Colombian navy rescuers told El Espectador.

The men who remained adrift in the Pacific Ocean For 7 days, they managed to spot members of the Coast Guard who were performing surveillance tasks, and that they immediately came to his aid.

The fishermen concerned were identified as Felipe Droued, 26 years old; Henry Ángulo, 34, and Luis Vázquez, 32, who suffered symptoms of dehydration and first degree burns from prolonged exposure to the sun during the days they were adrift in the Pacific, as reported by the Colombian Navy.

In the spectator They reported that once rescued by the men in uniform, the Ecuadorians were transferred to the Tumaco Coast Guard post dock., Colombia’s second largest port in the Pacific, where they received medical treatment.

Subsequently, members of the Colombian Navy formed a humanitarian mission with which they took the fishermen to their country of origin.

“The safe return of these three men to their country of origin has been carried out, aboard the coast guard units”, reported the uniform.

In Ecuador, they were received, as reported by El Universo, by the staff of the coastguard mobile station Yahuarcocha, of the navy of the neighboring country.

There, they also received medical treatment at the captaincy of the port of San Lorenzo and returned with their families to the city of Palma Real, in the border area with Colombia, according to information from the Ecuadorian newspaper.