An unexpected disaster earlier this month has led to tragedy for a family aboard a Venezuelan cruise ship. On September 3, nine people aboard the Venezuelan cruise ship called the Thor were believed to have been sent into the sea after a large wave struck the vessel, splitting the hull in two. This tragic accident led to a Venezuelan mother, her two children, and their nanny sailing adrift in the ocean for four days.
Eventually, rescue crews were able to find the lifeboat and come to the aid of those aboard. However, the mother did not survive the ordeal.
The five other people aboard the voyage ship still remain missing at this time.
The mother, forty-year-old Mariely Chacón, and her family had boarded the Thor vessel on the evening of Friday, September 3; in what they had intended to be a joyous cruise. The cruise was sailing from Higuierote to Tortuga Island, within the state of Miranda, Venezuela.
According to reports, Mariely Chacón’s father, Humberto Chacón, has stated the pleasure cruise was “simply a family trip to entertain the children.”
A Joyous Cruise Turns Deadly
Mariely Chacón boarded the boat for the entertaining voyage that Friday evening. She boarded with her husband Remis Clambor along with the couple’s two children, a six-year-old son, and their two-year-old daughter.
Also joining the family on the Venezualian cruise were some friends of the couple; the family’s 25-year-old nanny, Verónica Martinez; and a crew member working aboard the Thor that evening.
Upon the group’s rescue, it was discovered that Mariely Chacón had sacrificed herself to save her children as they waited four days to be spotted at sea.
As the two women and the two small children drifted at sea, underneath the blazing hot sun and waiting for rescue, Chacón was determined to keep her young children hydrated.
The mother determined that the best way to keep her two young children from suffering from potentially deadly dehydration while they waited for help to find them, was to breastfeed the two young children as long as she could.
However, while stranded at sea, the mother had very little available to her as she tried desperately to keep herself hydrated enough to continue to provide the breastmilk for her young children.
To do this, the resourceful mother drank her own urine to keep her hydrated. So her body could continue to provide the necessary nutrients to the children; as they waited for crews to rescue them from the desperate situation.
A Mother’s Quick Thinking Saves the Lives of Her Children
Mariely Chacón’s quick thinking and sacrifice saved her young children.
However, forensic medicine sources said that the mother’s vital organs collapsed due to electrolyte depletion leading to her death. According to reports, it was likely Chacón’s effort to help her children survive that led to the tragic death. The woman’s dehydration was likely accelerated by breastfeeding her two young children.
Since the news of her death, the selfless mother has been hailed a hero.
One journalist noted that “The Virgin of Coromoto is watching Mariely Chacón Marroquin in Caracas.”
Others commented on the power of a mother’s love, noting that the power of that love “can do anything.”
“I did not have the privilege of meeting you,” another person noted of the mother. “your last days of life speak a lot about what was in your beautiful heart,” they stated. “You are a being of light in eternity.”
