Speedboat with Five Aboard Vanishes After Sailing from Rio Toward Fortaleza

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A group of five friends in a speedboat has gone missing in Rio de Janeiro waters as they tried to head to Fortaleza, capital of Ceará, in the northeast region. Four of the men were from Ceará and one from Rio Grande do Sul.

The wife of one of the men said that she spoke with her husband for the last time on Friday, January 29th, when he sent her the location of São Thomé (RJ), in northern Rio de Janeiro.

They had come to Rio on January 23rd, so that one of them, entrepreneur Ricardo José Kirts, would buy the boat.  group has been missing since last Saturday, January 30th.

The Brazilian Navy reported that it was notified of the disappearance of the “O Maestro” , recreation vessel by the Command of the 1st Naval District, presumably off São João da Barra (RJ), in northern Rio de Janeiro.

The crew are Ricardo, also entrepreneur Domingos Sávio, a mechanic, a fisherman and the vessel’s skipper, whose names have not been disclosed.

The wife of one of the men, Vitória Magalhães, said that they began their return trip on January 26th, but the vessel experienced technical issues in the engine and pumps, so they were forced to stop for repairs. On January 28th, they resumed the trip, heading to Vitória, in Espírito Santo, to refuel.

The five friends left Botafogo Bay in Rio, after performing the necessary repairs to the speedboat. She also disclosed that, in his last contact – at 11:23 PM on Friday, January 29th – her husband sent her their location, Farol de São Thomé (RJ), also in northern Rio de Janeiro.

“When I spoke to him, at no time did he ask me for help, assistance. He said things were bad, but that they were still traveling to Vitória. When I couldn’t get in touch with him on Saturday – nor on Sunday – I got in touch with the Navy,” recalls Victoria.

According to Vitória, the last time they spoke, her husband said that the weather conditions were bad, that the sea was rough. He also stated that their clothes and food were wet, and that they were heading to Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo.

She reported that when she got in touch with the Navy , she asked them to try to reach the crew by radio, but the authorities were unable to communicate with the vessel immediately.

“Shortly after, they called me saying that a distress call had been made near the location I had sent them, and they could not confirm if it was really them, because the signal had failed,” adds Victoria.

However, on Monday, February 1st, she reported that the Navy had confirmed that the distress call had come from the ‘O Maestro’ speedboat. She fears that the group may be adrift, because one of the speedboat’s two engines had broken down, according to her husband’s call.

The Navy reported that it “immediately deployed the ‘Salvamar Sudeste’, the vessel responsible for search and rescue at sea, as well as the patrol ship ‘Macaé’ and two aircraft, one from the Navy and another from the Brazilian Air Force.” In addition, it issued a radio warning alert and ask for the support of “all vessels in nearby areas”.