15 Yucatán fishermen reported missing after Hurricane Milton

October 9, 2024

Three members of the Mexican navy in a speedboat on the ocean — The fishermen went missing after Hurricane Milton grazed the Yucatán coast as a Category 5 hurricane. (Government of Mexico)

Fifteen fishermen from Progreso, Yucatán, have been reported missing in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Milton passed above the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula earlier this week.

Four of the fishermen have been located, according to media reports and Yucatán Fishing Minister Lila Frías Castillo, but the other 11 remained missing as of Wednesday afternoon.

The back of The Neldy fishing boat moving through the ocean with the splash of a wave hitting the back of the boat. — Of the 15 fishermen from Progreso who’ve been reported missing, only the crew of a medium-sized fishing vessel, “The Neldy,” have been found so far. (Internet)

The president of the Yucatán branch of the National Chamber of the Fishing Industry told Foro TV on Tuesday that four boats with 15 fishermen on board went missing.

“There hasn’t been any contact with them,” Enrique Sánchez said

He said that the fishermen were in “very dangerous seas,” but noted that they are “experienced seamen.”

“We hope that everything turns out well and they return home safe and sound,” Sánchez said.

The largest of the four boats, a vessel named “Neldy,” was located along with the four fishermen alive on board, according to media reports.

In a post to Facebook early on Wednesday, Frías said, “Fortunately, the crew of the vessel ‘Neldy’ have contacted their families.”

Man and woman standing at a pier next to small fishing boats, looking into the camera. — Some family members of the missing fishermen have posted videos pleading with the government to do more to find their loved ones. (Twitter)

“They are safe,” the official added.

“Neldy,” described by Sánchez as a “boat of medium height,” left Progreso, a Gulf of Mexico port city north of Mérida, last weekend.

The news website 24 Horas reported that it was located after an “intense search” conducted by other fishermen. The vessel is expected to return to Progreso Wednesday.

The three vessels that remain missing are small boats called lanchas, according to Sánchez. Search efforts have been hindered by poor weather and rough seas.

The fishermen were reportedly advised to come ashore due to the threat posed by Hurricane Milton — an extremely powerful Category 5 storm — but didn’t manage to reach land.

Authorities in Campeche reported one death following the passage of Milton, which grazed the northwestern Yucatán Peninsula Monday but did not make landfall.

The hurricane’s wind and accompanying rain caused flooding and other damage on the Yucatán Peninsula, made up of the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

Federal Civil Protection authorities said Wednesday that the “entire” government of Mexico was providing assistance to affected residents.

Milton is now heading for the west coast of Florida, a state that is still recovering from Hurricane Helene. It is expected to make landfall there.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Wednesday morning that Milton has maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Yucatán Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena tours the damage in Celestún, a fishing village on Yucatán’s coast.

“On the forecast track, the center of Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida tonight, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean on Thursday,” the NHC said.

“… Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida tonight,” it added.

With reports from López-Doriga Digital, El Financiero, Debate and 24 Horas