Mexicans who survived nine months at sea attribute rescue to God

Mexico City, Mexico, Aug 20, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Three Mexican fisherman who were believed to be dead but were recently rescued after spending nine months stranded at sea attributed their survival and rescue to God and to their reading of the Bible everyday.

News of the rescue of Lucio Rendon Becerra, Jesus Edmundo Vidana and Salvador Ordonez surprised their family members, who had given up hope of finding them alive and had even prayed novenas for the repose of their souls.

“The first thing I will do when I get to Mexico is visit the church in my town (Las Arenitas in the Mexican state of Sinaloa) to thank God for giving me my life back, because I have been born again,” Jesus Edumundo Vidana told the Reforma newspaper.

Speaking to other reporters, Vidana said the three survived thanks to the help of God, who gave them the strength not to lose hope.  “We have a lot of plans, we want to keep fishing and we hope that, Lord willing, we can make that a reality,” he added.

On October 28, 2005, the three men set out to capture a shark off the Western coast of Mexico and were not heard from for nine months.  They were believed to be dead until August 14, when a Taiwanese vessel found them near the Marshall Islands, some 5,600 miles from their point of departure.

During their months stranded at sea, they went for periods as long as fifteen days without eating. They survived on fish they were able to catch and on rainwater.