Rescue services are searching for 66-year-old businessman Juan Jose Mutilbo Obregon from Spain, who went missing last Tuesday after falling into the sea from his yacht during a trip between Sicily and Greece.
His wife Carmen, 67, who was with him on the boat, spent the next three days alone at sea, without a phone signal or the ability to call for help. It was only on Friday that she managed to establish contact with land and notify the relevant services.
“We are currently at the marina in Pylos, but we know very little. They tell us that the search is still active, but we don’t have any more information,” Sergio Mutilba, the son of the missing man, who traveled to Pylos to be with his mother and follow the search for his father, told El Mundo.
He fell into the sea while cleaning tuna.
Juan Jose had previously taken early retirement and in recent months has spent most of his time sailing in the Mediterranean with his wife.
According to the family’s reconstruction, the couple left Syracuse, Sicily, on Monday for Pylos on the Greek coast. The trip initially went smoothly.
The next morning, Juan Jose caught a tuna and began cleaning it. At one point, according to the family’s assumptions, he slipped, perhaps because of the fish’s blood, and fell over the ship’s railing.
The son says his mother heard her husband yelling, “Menchu, Menchu, turn off the engine,” but in a moment of panic she was unable to react.
The ship continued to sail without him.
Carmen had previously passed her recreational sailing test, but found herself in a situation she was not prepared for.
She remained stranded as the ship continued to sail and became increasingly distant from her husband, who remained at sea.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that Carmen had no phone signal. According to the family, she was about 150 nautical miles from shore.
She spent three days on the ship, which had food on board, trying from time to time to check if any signals appeared so that she could call for help.
The friend realized something was wrong.
Meanwhile, a friend of the missing man, experienced in sailing and familiar with his usual routes, noticed that the ship was deviating from its planned course.
He tried to contact Juan Jose, but the messages did not go through due to a lack of connection.
It was only on Friday, three days after falling into the sea, that Carmen managed to receive a signal and contact his friend. Then help was called.
The Spanish maritime service passed the information on to the relevant services in Italy and Greece. Several ships were sent to the location of the ship. Rescuers eventually took control of the ship and towed it to Pylos.
The family requests that the search not be suspended.
The main goal now is to find Juan José. The search is involving rescue services from Spain, Italy and Greece, and the family says the operation is still ongoing.
His son Sergio is calling for the search to continue and for additional resources to be involved in the operation, if possible.
“We are just asking that they not give up and continue the search,” Sergio said.
The family believes that Spanish authorities should also be involved in the search and that the possibility of deploying additional resources should be considered.
Juan Jose Mutilba is a computer scientist by profession. For years he ran the company D’ors Informática.
After his early retirement, sailing became one of his main activities. He and his wife traveled frequently to the Mediterranean, visiting Italy, France, and Greece.
While Carmen is now safe in Pylos, the family is still waiting for news about the fate of the 66-year-old Spaniard.