Story at a glance:
- A Venezuelan mother of two died in a shipwreck after drinking her urine and breastfeeding her children.
- Her vital organs failed after her electrolytes were depleted from dehydration.
- The children suffered dehydration and first-degree burns.
A Venezuelan mother of two died in a shipwreck after drinking her urine and breastfeeding her children.
Marely Chacón was on the cruise ship Thor on Sept. 3 with her husband, nanny and two children, a 6-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter.
When the ship crashed on its trip from Higuerote to Tortuga Island, it was a disaster that Chacón and her family were not prepared for.
A strong wave hit the boat and broke the bottom portion, causing the family to be separated for four days while stranded in the hot sun on a lifeboat, Newsweek reported.
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A rescue team was called in search of the missing family; the team was only able to find two of Chacón’s children holding on to their dead mother.
“The mother who died kept her children alive by breastfeeding them and drinking her own urine,” an INEA spokesman said. “She died three or four hours before the rescue from dehydration after drinking no water for three days.”
Forensic doctors determined that Chacón’s vital organs failed after her electrolytes were depleted from dehydration, according to a Spanish magazine, La República, Newsweek cited.
The children suffered dehydration and first-degree burns.
The five other people, including the father and husband, Remis David Camblor, have yet to be found, according to Newsweek.
“The Virgin of Coromoto is watching Mariely Chacón Marroquin in Caracas. Rest in peace,” journalist Laura Castellanos tweeted in Spanish, Newsweek reported.
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