Erasto Crisanto Valdes, a 31-year-old fisherman missing in Mexico, has been rescued alive from an underwater cave after 15 days. He was found in an air pocket located at a depth of more than 100 meters.
Sea-news.az reports this, citing the Daily Mail publication.
Valdes went missing on July 23 while fishing with his father in a cenote (a water-filled cave) which is a natural karst cavity in the San Francisco-La Paz region. According to the man himself, he swam underwater in pursuit of a fish but could not find his way back out.
His father initially attempted to search for his son alone, after which local residents and rescue workers joined the search operations. Six days later, a speargun belonging to the missing person was found at a depth of approximately 65 meters.
The search operation continued with the participation of specialists from Mexico, the US, Germany, and the Dominican Republic. On August 7, 15 days after the incident, researchers entered a cave with an air pocket located at a depth of 100 meters in the water and found Valdes alive there.
“We thought we were going to find his body. But God had other plans,” said Carlos Jimenez, a Mexican researcher involved in the operation, describing the rescue process as a miracle.
The man was brought out of the water on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. After going without food for two weeks, he was diagnosed with severe dehydration and exhaustion. Following his rescue, Valdes expressed gratitude for the opportunity to see his children and family again.
