Fisherman, Jose Salvador Alvarenga, and his 22-year-old shipmate set sailed in a small boat from the coast of Mexico. Their trip was meant to last two days, but a huge storm changed their plans, the two men never made their way back. After an intense two-week search for them, their families didn’t know what happened to them until 438 days later.
Alvarenga’s washed ashore in the Marshall Islands which gained media attention. His shipmate, Ezequiel Cordoba, did not make it. After being lost at the sea for a few months, Cordoba couldn’t handle the limited diet he had to go through. Now Cordoba’s family are suing Alvarenga for eating him in order to stay alive, Alvarenga denied the accusation.
When he was found alive after 15 months in 2014, Alvarenga told how he stayed alive by drinking urine and turtle blood and eating fish and birds he caught by hand. The $1 million lawsuit comes after a book that describes Alvarenga’s story is about to hit shelves. This situation is getting many comments on social media and the majority thinks the lawsuit is absurd since cannibalism can not be proven in this case. Some people think that it’s okay to eat a dead body if they find themselves in a similar situation. Most people including Alvarenga’s attorney think the family wants to get part of the money that Alvarenga is getting for the book deal.
Whatever Cordoba’s family motivation is, Alvarenga is sticking to his story that he did not eat his shipmate. He mentioned to the Daily Mail that he didn't think about eating his companion at all. Before his death Cordoba made Alveranga promised two things, he wouldn’t eat his body and he would tell his mother what happened to him. He kept both promises, Alvarenga met with Cordoba's mother in May of 2014. Alvarenga recalls having his shipmate’s corpse on the boat for six days after throwing him into the water. Alvarenga said he continued talking to the corpse for six days, unable to cope with having lost his only companion.
In the following video Alvarenga briefly summarizes his shipmate's death.
This situation was so hard for both men to go through. Cordoba suffered through his death and Alvarenga was traumatized after seeing his only companion die. And not only did Alvarenga stayed alive from fish and his own urine but also by swallowing jellyfish that he grabbed with his own hands. Alvarenga said that swallowing jellyfish burned his throat. Surviving adrift for more than a year has made Alvarenga the longest surviving castaway.
