A search and rescue operation is underway for 66-year-old Spanish businessman Juan José Mutilba Obregón, who has been missing since Tuesday, August 18, when he fell overboard from his sailboat during a voyage from Syracuse to Pylos. Traveling with him was his 67-year-old wife, Carmen, who remained alone and unable to communicate on the unmanned boat for about three days until she managed to get a signal and report the incident.
According to information provided by his family, on Tuesday morning, while traveling with his wife to Greece, the 66-year-old was fishing and had caught a tuna. While cleaning the fish, he reportedly slipped on the fish’s blood and fell into the sea.
His 67-year-old wife heard her husband shouting, “Mentsou, Mentsou, turn off the engine,” but, as their son, Sergio, she was unable to react in time. Although the woman held a recreational boat operator’s license, which she had obtained years ago, she was not prepared to handle such a difficult situation on her own, and the boat continued to drift away, while the 66-year-old man was left behind in the sea.
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She was unable to stop the boat, which continued to drift away from the spot where the 66-year-old had fallen overboard, and she had no cell service to call for help.
The woman remained on the boat for about three days, unable to contact the relevant authorities. On Friday, she managed to regain cell phone service and contacted a family friend who has experience in navigation.
The family friend notified the Spanish maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, which in turn relayed the alert to the relevant authorities in Italy and Greece.
The sailboat
was located near Pylos
After the Greek authorities were notified, a search and rescue operation was launched. According to a report from the Coast Guard, the sailboat, which flies the French flag, was located approximately 18 nautical miles from Pylos, drifting out of control. Two Coast Guard patrol boats, a land-based patrol vehicle, and the fishing vessel “IOANNA-MARINA” rushed to the scene to provide assistance.
The 66-year-old man’s wife was located and found to be in good health, and the sailboat was subsequently guided, with the assistance and escort of the Coast Guard, to the Pylos marina.
The search for the 66-year-old
continues
The missing man’s son, Sergio Mutilba, has traveled to Pylos and remains there with his family, awaiting news about his father. “We are now at the Pylos marina, but we know very little. They tell us that the search is continuing, but we have no further information,” he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
The family is asking that the search for the 66-year-old continue without interruption and that the Spanish authorities become more involved.
“What we’re asking is that they not stop and that they keep searching,” his son said, while also expressing the hope that more resources would be mobilized.
Who is the missing man?
Juan José Mutila Obregón is 66 years old and had worked as an IT specialist. For years, he was at the helm of the company D’ors Informática, and later became involved in the business of distributing water to companies through Mutobre S.L.
After his early retirement, he devoted much of his time to the sea, traveling with his wife throughout the Mediterranean, including to Italy, France, and Greece.
Source: Proto Thema
