Singer Carlos Peña was rescued Saturday night by Belizean authorities after his boat ran aground on a reef near South Water Caye in southern Belize. La Prensa Libre, Guatemala, reported that the news of the singer’s accident spread quickly after he asked for help on his Facebook account.
According to La Prensa Libre, Peña’s boat ran aground into the reef on Saturday, October 21, after which he reached out to his Facebook following for assistance. His ’S.O.S.’ went viral in social networks and, according to the Guatemalan consulate in Belice, a rescue boat left in search of the stranded boat soon after.
The singer’s vessel is sixty-foot pleasure yacht captained by Gustavo Aleojos Andres Jansa and on board were eight passengers and two crew members. The incident occurred in the southern waters of Belize (near South Water Caye/Carrie Bow Caye) when one of its engines failed, causing the vessel to lose power and run around on the reef.
There were no reported injuries, but local authorities are assessing to see if there there’s any damage to the reef. The passengers had checked in with immigration in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, and were heading south towards Placencia.
As part of the marine casualty investigation, once a vessel runs aground, the interested parties which would be the Belize Coast Guard, Ports Authority, Fisheries Department and Department of Environment form a task force that goes out on the scene to conduct a more detailed assessment. Dives are being conducted and the DOE personnel were on hand to asses the impact of the damage, which seems minimal.
According to the online article, Peña was rescued late in the evening, at about 8p.m. He published a message in his Facebook account about an hour later in which he called the people who rescued him as angels and thanked the people who went out looking for him. It is not yet known where he was heading.
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