A trip from Caye Caulker to Belize City turned into a desperate search at sea after two fishermen failed to make it home on Sunday night. Samuel Chi and Albert Vacarro had called relatives just before seven p.m. to say they were heading back to the mainland, but they never arrived. By morning, the Belize Coast Guard, along with the Port Authority and Fisheries Department, had joined the search. Around eleven a.m., crews found Vacarro alive, floating about ten miles off the coast of Belize City and badly dehydrated. Tonight, Samuel Chi remains missing. Coast Guard Operations Officer, Lieutenant Mark Choc, tells us more.
Mark Choc
Lieutenant Mark Choc, Operations Officer, Belize Coast Guard
“As a result the Coast Guard from Caye Caulker was activated. The patrol was deployed from Caye Caulker to conduct a rescue operation from Caye Caulker, moving all the way to Vista Del Mar, however up to midnight last night, the patrol was unable to find anything or anyone. AS a result, a secondary asset was activated around one a.m. to support the search and rescue effort. Around seven a.m. no one was found. However that resulted in a joint operation with he Belize Port Authority and the Belize Fisheries Department. AS of nine a.m. this operation was launched and around eleven a.m. Mr. Albert Vaccaro, one of the person’s missing was located by the Belize Coast Guard vessel. He was located South West of Hicks Caye, ten miles west of Belize City, five miles off the coast line. He was found floating in the water off Hicks Caye. An initial assessment was conducted where it was confirmed he was dehydrated and also he was very disoriented where he was not able to confirm how he resulted to be in that situation. So Mr. Samule Chi is still missing. The vessel is still missing. We cannot confirm the location of the vessel or Mr. Chi, so I can confirm that for sure.”
The search for Chi continues. Choc says Vacarro’s health is priority before any further interviews are conducted with him.
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