Three Mexican fishermen who say they spent nine months adrift and survived on rain water, raw fish and faith were never officially reported as missing, a Mexican official said.
Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said yesterday that he was surprised by reports of the fishermen's August 9th rescue near the Marshall Islands, 8,800 kilometres from Mexico's Pacific coast.
"The truth is that it really was a surprise, and it was a surprise for everybody, because there hadn't been any report that they were missing," Mr Derbez said. "They are physically well, obviously thin and surely hungry, but fortunately, well."
Survivor Jesus Vidana said he and companions Lucio Rendon and Salvador Ordonez, set off on October 28th, 2005, from San Blas, a Pacific coast town about 660 kilometres northwest of Mexico City, to fish for sharks, but mechanical problems and adverse winds quickly pushed their boat out to sea.
An employee of the port captain's office in San Blas confirmed that the men had not been reported missing.
One explanation for the lack of missing persons' reports is that the men apparently set out in their 27-foot boat on a short fishing expedition with little equipment - just torches and a compass - and may not have formally advised port authorities of their departure.
The men's relatives could not immediately be reached for comment. However, the government news agency has quoted relatives of the men in San Blas as saying they had only been missing for three months.
Mr Derbez said Mexican authorities would be on hand to issue them passports so that they can return to Mexico, once they arrive in the Marshall Islands on the fishing boat that found them.
AP