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Authorities in Argentina are investigating the death of a fisherman who appears to have sickened slowly on board without any prompt attempt at a medevac. A federal court is examining the actions of the vessel's captain and the shoreside doctor who advised on the case.
According to the authorities, fisherman Matias Oscar Vilchez, 37, was employed aboard the fishing vessel Don Nicola as a relief crewmember. He joined for a hake-fishing voyage out of Mar Del Plata, departing in mid-April. On April 24, after about one week at sea, Vilchez fell ill with symptoms of chest pain. He had a medical history of mild intestinal bleeding, according to his records, but not previously severe enough to be life-threatening.
The Don Nicola's master reported the case and consulted with a doctor from the Naval Prefecture of Argentina, who ruled out a helicopter medevac and ordered the ship to return to port to offload the patient. At the time, Don Nicola was about 25 nautical miles off Mar del Plata, a few hours' transit away from the pier and a higher level of care. In the meantime, he was prescribed Omeprazole, a stomach ulcer medication.
For reasons under investigation, Don Nicola did not transit into port immediately, despite the recommendations from the prefrecture. For the next 17 hours, according to his family's attorney, Vilchez remained on board, and developed severe symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding. He contacted his family and wrote an emergency text message to his wife, asking her to "send a helicopter." At about 0600 hours on April 25, his crewmates found him dead in his cabin.
His family reports that the autopsy determined that the proximate cause of death a heart attack; they allege that they were not informed of his passing until the arrival of a morgue van on the dock.
A federal prosecutor has opened an inquiry into possible charge of "abandonment of a person resulting in death." Both the captain of the Don Nicola and the prefecture's doctor are under investigation; the doctor maintains that he ordered the vessel to immediately return to shore, and is therefore not criminally liable for the outcome, reports Argentine news agency DIB.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
