Five people reported as missing at sea after a tourist boat capsized Monday night while traveling from Isla Mujeres to Cancún were rescued, Quintana Roo authorities said Tuesday.
Four people including a 10-year-old boy drowned when the catamaran Diosa del Mar capsized and sank shortly after leaving Isla Mujeres, a small island 13 kilometers off the coast of Cancún.
Five Mexican tourists reported as missing were rescued Monday night, authorities said.
The navy, state police and Civil Protection authorities participated in the search and rescue operation.
A total of 19 people were on board Diosa del Mar (Goddess of the Sea), a 26-foot boat designed to carry 16 passengers. They were the captain, a crew member, 14 adult passengers, two children and a two-year-old infant.
The overloading of the vessel has been cited as a possible factor in its capsizing, apparently after it was hit by a wave from a passing ship. However, the newspaper La Jornada Maya said “it is presumed” that a mechanical failure caused the accident.
The captain, identified as Ramón N., was arrested by police for questioning. A local reporter said on the X social media platform that he was detained for “negligent conduct.”
Quintana Roo Attorney General Raciel López Salazar described the Monday night accident as “regrettable” and said that authorities were analyzing a range of factors that may have contributed to the tragedy including climatic conditions and the state of the boat.
Local meteorological reports recorded winds up to 50 kilometers per hour and waves up to 3 meters high on Monday night.
López indicated that the captain will have a case to answer.
“We’re doing the investigative process, we can’t reach a conclusion at this time, but what I can say is that there is liability,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.
With reports from La Jornada Maya and El Financiero
