Jose Salvador Alvarenga famously survived more than 14 months at sea before washing ashore near the Marshall Islands in 2014. The family of Ezequiel Cordoba, who was the only other person on the boat and who died on the seas, is now suing him for cannibalism.
This is a continuation of what is possibly the most famous story of survival at sea in recent times. Alvarenga and Cordoba set out from the port of the Mexican town of Tapachula on a fishing expedition in November 2012. Their fishing trip was to last two days. Alvarenga had promised to pay Cordoba $50 for helping with this fishing expedition, according to The Huffington Post.
But soon after they set sail, they were struck by a fierce storm and very strong winds. As a result, the engine, the communication and electrical equipment and a number of other equipment on the boat were destroyed. They were therefore left to fend for themselves on the high seas, according to Time.
Initially, they survived on fish and birds that they learned to catch with their bare hands. For water they would drink urine, turtle blood and rainwater. After two months of this, Cordoba apparently started falling apart. Alvarenga said that Cordoba gradually started losing his physical and mental balance. One of the things that may have contributed to this is the fact that Cordoba could not adapt himself to the new diet requirements that their situation was putting them through.
According to Alvarenga's account, Cordoba then died. After sitting with the corpse for six days, Alvarenga decided to throw it overboard. Before he died, Cordoba had made Alvarenga promise two things. The first was that he would not eat Cordoba's corpse. And the second was that he would track down Cordoba's mother and tell her that he bid her goodbye. Soon after he was rescued on the Marshall Islands, Alvarenga went and met with Cordoba's mother and passed Cordoba's message on to her, according to Inquisitr.
Since that time a book has been published concerning this story. Cordoba's mother and relatives are now suing Alvarenga for 1 million dollars, claiming that he resorted to cannibalizing Cordoba in order to survive.
