Juan José Mutilba has been retired since 2021 and since then he escapes whenever he can with his boat on trips in which he also practiced fishing, one of his passions. The last choice of this 66-year-old businessman from Burgos, whose company supplies water drums for office or workplace workers, was a tour of the Mediterranean Sea, between the coast of Sicily (Italy) and Greece. The man has been missing since last Tuesday after slipping on his boat and falling into the water without his wife, who was accompanying him, being able to rescue him when he was adrift nor notify emergency services until three days after the accident because there was no coverage. The Italian authorities are searching for the man from Burgos while his family pleads for dedication in case they manage to locate him despite the complexity of these maritime operations.
The couple’s son, Sergio Mutilba, has appeared in several media outlets to tell the story of his parents and demand resources for their search. The man from Burgos indicated that the events happened last Tuesday when his parents, regular sailors, were on the route started on Monday from the Italian Syracuse heading to Pilos, a coastal town in southern Greece.
The accident occurred when on Tuesday morning the man was fishing for tuna when, stepping on the fish’s blood on the deck, he slipped and fell into the water. His wife, although she has the permit to operate this type of boat, panicked and could not react to try to rescue her husband, who had urged her in vain to turn off the marine vehicle’s engine, as it was moving away.
Read more United States gives an ultimatum to any country «crazy enough» to continue negotiating with Iran
Sergio Mutilba specified that his mother holds the title of recreational boat skipper, but the boat they were on in the Mediterranean is notably larger than the others, so it was not easy to act, even less so given the panic state of living that scene. The woman was out of communication due to lack of coverage and remained alone and adrift for three days until she finally managed to call a family friend who had navigation knowledge, according to the Efe agency. It was this friend who contacted the Spanish Maritime Rescue, who did the same with their Italian and Greek counterparts. The latter located the boat where the businessman’s partner, Carmen Díez, was traveling, who waits with her family for news in Pilos, where she was taken.
EL PAÍS has contacted Ignacio San Millán, president of the Confederation of Business Associations of Burgos, who expressed his sorrow over what happened and stated that he trusts it can be resolved favorably. San Millán specified that the company he leads is a client of the entity that Juan José Mutilba led before retiring, “a business supplying water drums or jugs for employees or visitors of offices or workplaces,” Mutobre S.L., which when he retired was managed by his son Sergio.
