Missing fisherman is airlifted to safety

The Żabbar fisherman who got lost in the fog and spent two nights at sea was found in his small boat yesterday, exhausted but alive, after he managed to survive on an afternoon’s ration of food and water.

After Mario Axiaq’s disappearance on Wednesday, the armed forces combed the seas around the island for more than 40 hours, which his family said felt like “an eternity”.

“Where is my husband? Where is he so I can hug him tight again,” Mr Axiaq’s wife, Carmen, cried out loud as she rushed to the emergency department at Mater Dei Hospital where he had been admitted in the afternoon.

Staring up at the sky, just outside the waiting area, where some of the fisherman’s 10 siblings were waiting to see their brother, she folded her hands as if in prayer and thanked God for looking after her husband.

With tears in her eyes and words of praise for the army, she ran towards her sisters-in-law and hugged them tightly.

Brimming with relief and excitement, Ms Axiaq blew kisses on a photo of her husband, which was taken by The Times as he was being transferred from a helicopter to the hospital’s ambulance.

Mr Axiaq, 58, had set out on his 13-foot boat at 5am on Wednesday from St Thomas Bay in Marsascala and was meant to return in the early afternoon.

His family raised the alarm at about 6pm when he failed to come home. The army immediately mounted an intensive search.

For two days, the Armed Forces of Malta searched the seas, until its air wing spotted the fishing boat about 45 nautical miles northeast of Malta at about 11am yesterday.

The army informed two vessels in the area about the sighting and a Panama-registered ship confirmed the person on board was Mr Axiaq. He was alive and well.

An Italian Military Mission helicopter, with a joint Maltese and Italian crew on board that was taking part in the search, airlifted Mr Axiaq to St Luke’s Hospital at about noon (the Mater Dei Hospital helipad is closed off at the moment).

Despite spending more than two days out at sea, Mr Axiaq seemed wide awake and when the helicopter arrived at St Luke’s he even pushed himself towards the door as he was being helped off the aircraft and on to a stretcher.

From there, the father of three and grandfather of four was transferred to Mater Dei to loud cries of joy.

“They have found him! They have found our Mario safe and sound,” his sister, Annie Axiaq, said, embracing an equally emotional sister, Eva Cauchi.

“God has heard us and granted our grace! See, they found grandpa,” his wife Carmen chipped in as she ruffled her grandchild’s hair.

Mr Axiaq, a former butcher, had been fishing for the past 20 years after falling in love with the craft when he accompanied his father-in-law on fishing trips, his sister Annie said as she waited to see her brother.

There were sighs of relief and cries of gratitude at the hospital’s waiting area as Mr Axiaq’s siblings and other relatives waited for their turn to speak to “our Mario”.

Despite spending more than 48 hours on a boat with a small portion of food, Mr Axiaq seemed in good health and, with tears of joy, soon engaged in conversation with his relatives.

After talking to Mr Axiaq, his son Pierre said his father had suddenly found himself in a foggy area and headed towards what he thought was the shoreline.

But he was probably going further out to sea and, at one point, he ran out of fuel.

His boat drifted further out to the open sea and, in fact, the area where he was eventually spotted is closer to Sicily.

Malta is located 60 nautical miles away from Sicily.

His relatives said Mr Axiaq had been meant to be fishing a few miles out of the bay, “close to the ships at San Tumas”, a reference to Hurd’s Bank.

Since he intended to return to shore within a few hours, Mr Axiaq had not taken more than an afternoon’s portion of food and water.

For two nights, he lay helplessly in his boat without any means of communication as his phone had lost reception. His relatives started to lose hope as the hours passed.

“Half of me was hopeful, the other half had given up. Spending three days without knowing anything, without the least bit of information, is a lot to take in,” his son admitted.

“We waited and hoped, sometimes losing count of what’s going on, and my mother called in the help of all the saints and ancestors we know.”

The Maltese and Italian military brought Mario Axiaq to hospital by helicopter. Photo: Jason Borg