A missing sailor's desperate 10-second final message to his wife during a deadly hurricane has been revealed.
Hurricane-force winds battered the Sereno, a small yacht, as its crew members hunkered down, braving the slowly strengthening storm raging around them. Gusts of 165 mph (266km/h) and higher howled so loudly that sailor Ruben Torres could barely hear himself as he recorded a desperate 10-second voice message to his family.
"All things considered, I'm alright," he yelled, "but it's really horrible, it's really horrible, it's really horrible. Family, I don't want to exaggerate, but pray for us because it's really awful out here."
That was the last time anyone heard from him. Now, nearly three weeks later, he remains missing, likely swept away in the horrific waves perpetuated by the gales of Hurricane Otis.
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Searches are still underway in Acapulco Bay, but the good tidings have been sparse and recoveries have been slow (AP)The Sereno was one of 614 boats that ended up damaged, destroyed or missing in Acapulco Bay that fateful early morning on October 25, the Mexican Navy said. The others ranged from similar yachts to ferries and fishing boats. Only one person survived the Sereno, but Torres and the vessel's captain are still missing.
At least 48 people officially lost their lives when Otis struck, with most drowning. At least 26 are still missing, but family members of other sailors or fishermen in the area say there are likely a lot more than that.
Hurricane Otis strengthened into a Category 5 storm in just 12 hours, slamming Acapulco before anyone expected it to and leaving massive amounts of damage in its wake. No part of the bay was safe.
The authorities haven't told Ramos any news of her missing husband, who sent a desperate voice message to her during the storm (AP)Before a storm, sailors or boat owners will typically take their boats out to safer areas of the bay, preferring not to leave them docked where the storm could slam them into land or structures near the harbours.
Susana Ramos didn't hear her husband's message until days later, as the power grid in the region was temporarily wiped out by the storm. But Ramos knew of her husband's routine when such storms approached, and she didn't worry — until days later, he was still gone. Then, she heard his voice message, and panic set in.
The voice message sent by Ruben Torres to his wife detailed how bad the storm was and asked her to pray for him (AP)Ramos had put out clean clothes for her husband as she eagerly awaited his return. He had gone out with the crew of the vessel to ensure the safety of the boat, sailing it over to where the naval base is — an area more protected by mountains that generally block or weaken the brunt of nasty storms.
On October 24 at 7pm, Torres spoke to his eldest son, who is 14, and Ramos said she overheard them chatting about how ominous the sky looked as the storm took over the bay and wreaked havoc on the surrounding area. The darkness encroached as power failed in many regions.
Torres had assured his family at the time that he had a lifejacket with him and that he had the engines running in case a swift getaway was necessary. None of that mattered, however.
Acapulco Bay became a whirlpool, according to some witness accounts, when Hurricane Otis battered the area (AP)Ramos had her own issues to deal with, too. The family's home flooded, and she said it was like "the walls ... were crying." What was even more terrifying was the "penetrating hissing of the air" around them as gale-force winds battered the home. That was arguably more dangerous than the water entering the home.
She and a dozen other family members huddled inside the quaint concrete structure, praying for their safety and that of Torres. When the storm passed, they emerged, and Ramos trekked around eight miles (13km) to the dock of the Sereno, stepping through mud, riding motorcycles and navigating giant swaths of debris.
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When she got there, she burst through other families looking for their own loved ones and started shouting her husband's name, but to no avail. She checked local morgues, hospitals and checked in with the authorities, but none of them had seen Torres. She decided that searching would have to be done by her and her alone.
Many individuals have been putting up missing persons signs as they continue to desperately search for loved ones lost in the storm (AP)Ramos hitched a ride into the bay on a search team's boat, eventually finding the surviving sailor from the Sereno, who told her through tears that he had only survived by clutching a piece of debris while also wearing his lifejacket. He said Torres had been wearing his, too, but he had no other news.
She said the ships in the bay that remained afloat looked like broken toys. For the next several days and weeks, she checked in with the authorities and at hospitals and morgues again and again, but Torres had not turned up. She goes to the morgue every day hoping for a sign of him and chases rumours of survivors with her family throughout the decimated city. She also brought samples of her children's DNA to the morgue so that if they do recover Torres, they can match the children's identify with his to make a positive identification.
Some are saying that more lives could have been saved had the Navy actually taken the time to properly warn sailors and civilians of the looming threat, which some say they believe the Navy knew about ahead of time.
Divers have been scouring the seas for signs of missing persons or the boats that remain missing (AP)Approximately 67 small boats have been recovered after the Navy joined search efforts, but over 500 are still missing, especially larger ones, Alejandro Alexandres Gonzalez, a captain, told reporters during one search mission.
Alejandro Martinez Sidney, a business leader and member of a fishing cooperative, described accounts he had heard from some survivors about a giant whirlpool that had formed in the middle of the bay, sucking the ships in — as if Charybdis from Greek mythology had made its way over to the Mexican coast.
Ramos said she now sleeps every night in her mother's arms and tries to be strong for her children — and they give her strength in return. However, her old life is ruined, and she must either start anew or move on. The grocery store she used to run was looted by desperate residents just trying to survive.
Ramos herself got on several search boats to look for her husband but had no luck (AP)She's holding out hope for news of her husband, however, who is set to turn 33 on November 17. She is praying for a miracle, hoping to learn just a scrap of news about him by then.
"It would be really great if they told me, at least, there he is; a miracle if they would tell me, he's hospitalized there, come — and I would carry him back," she said.
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