Mexican man missing for 15 days found alive inside 328-foot-deep underwater sinkhole

A fisherman went missing in Mexico at a cenote, a natural sinkhole, and was found 15 days later inside an underwater cave. Erasto Crisanto Valdez was fishing with his father in July when he got lost. An international rescue team joined the search operation for the 31-year-old in San Francisco La Paz and found him inside a sinkhole. After they found a harpoon Valdez had been carrying at a depth of around 213ft, they got an idea of where to look. That led them to expand the search in that area.

Nearly 15 days later, they found Valdez in a sinkhole at a depth of 328ft below the surface. The rescuers were shocked to see him alive inside the cave with an air pocket and described it as nothing short of a miracle. The team included explorers from Mexico, Germany, the US and the Dominican Republic. "We were prepared to find his body. But God had other plans," Mexican explorer Carlos Jimenez said.

Valdez was brought to the surface on a stretcher where his health was assessed. He was found to be suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition and was taken to the hospital.

What is a cenote?

A cenote is a natural sinkhole filled with water. It is formed when limestone bedrock collapses, revealing the fresh groundwater underneath. Cenote comes from the Yucatec Maya term ts'ono'ot, meaning a sacred or deep location with water that can be accessed. They are mostly found in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

Humans creating a problem for cenotes
Underwater sinkholes, or cenotes, are facing severe environmental threats from human activity, pollution, and rapid development in the Yucatán Peninsula. Damage to them threatens the unique ecosystems in these waters, as they directly connect to underground aquifers, providing fresh drinking water. A large amount of wastewater flows untreated directly into the porous limestone and groundwater system. Construction projects drill massive support pillars directly into underground cave roofs, which are delicate, thus threatening the structures.