Costa Rica and Panama search for a vessel with three crew members missing since Monday

Costa Rican authorities are searching for the vessel El Corongo and its three missing crew members. (Courtesy: Noticias Trivisión) Costa Rican authorities are maintaining a search and rescue operation to locate the vessel "El Corongo" and its three crew members, reported missing since Monday in Caribbean waters, 14 nautical miles from Sixaola, near the border with Panama. The alert came in through the 9-1-1 Emergency System. Since then, maritime patrols have been covering defined sectors with the support of technological tools that analyze sea conditions. In statements released this Saturday by Costa Rican media, the director of the National Coast Guard Service, Juan Carlos Alvarado, noted that the operation's planning takes into account ocean currents and wind direction to calculate the possible movements of the vessel and the people on board. With that information, the teams direct resources toward the points where there is a greater possibility of finding traces of the vessel. The National Aeronaval Service of Panama is collaborating in the search tasks in the border maritime strip. (Courtesy: Noticias Trivisión) "We keep the search and rescue efforts for the vessel 'El Corongo' and its three crew members active," Alvarado stated, referring to the work continuing in the area. The search area is located in a maritime region close to the border, so Costa Rica requested and maintains coordination with Panamanian authorities. The operation has the collaboration of the National Aeronaval Service of Panama (SENAN), which participates in the exchange of information and in the coordination of tasks in the maritime strip near both countries. In addition, a United States aircraft conducted overflights of the search area. The aerial support makes it possible to expand the observation radius over the sea, where weather conditions and currents can modify the estimated location of a vessel as hours pass. "We have carried out permanent patrols in search areas defined through technological tools that analyze ocean currents and winds," the official said. These tools make it possible to project probable trajectories from the vessel's last known point. The analysis also considers the effect of environmental conditions on the possible movement of the crew members or of objects linked to the vessel. The maritime and air deployment in Caribbean waters concluded without any trace of the vessel or its occupants. (Courtesy: Noticias Trivisión) Despite the maritime deployment, the coordination with Panama, and the overflights carried out in the area, Costa Rican authorities reported that so far they have not found the vessel or the three people traveling on it. "At this moment it has not been possible to locate the vessel and its crew members," Alvarado said. The National Coast Guard Service will continue with the search work and with the exchange of information with the National Aeronaval Service of Panama. The priority of the operation is to establish the whereabouts of "El Corongo" and its crew members, missing since Monday, October 19. The authorities have not yet released the identities of the people traveling on the vessel or additional information about their itinerary before contact was lost. The operation will continue to be subject to evaluations of maritime conditions and to the results of the patrols in the defined areas.