Panama’s National Aeronaval Service has found three Costa Rican fishermen alive after they spent six days missing in the Caribbean.
The men and their fishing boat were located on Sunday, September 27, approximately 20 nautical miles north of Cuango, a coastal community in Colón province. Authorities said all three were in stable condition and were being transferred to a safe port.
The fishermen were identified by Costa Rican media as Omar Dunkley Salazar, the boat’s captain, Erick Hernández Madriz and Dexter González Presida. All are residents of communities in Limón province on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.
They left Los Cocos on September 21 aboard El Cosmo, a blue-and-black open fishing boat measuring approximately 27 feet. Their intended fishing area was near Manzanillo, close to the border with Panama, but they failed to return as expected.
Panama’s Aeronaval Operations Center launched a search after receiving an emergency notification through the 911 system. The operation included the P-230 patrol vessel and a fixed-wing aircraft.
The search was coordinated with Panama’s National Border Service and Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard, including its station in Limón. The discovery ended nearly a week of uncertainty for the fishermen’s families and coastal communities.
Public reports did not explain why El Cosmo became stranded or how far the vessel had drifted from its intended fishing grounds. Authorities also had not released detailed information about the men’s condition beyond describing them as stable.
The case underscores the importance of cooperation between Panama and Costa Rica in a maritime area regularly used by small commercial and artisanal fishing boats.
Sources: Teletica, Prensa
