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“I stopped in San Andrés to charge up some diesel and change a damaged battery,” said the Italian after being rescued.
The Colombian Navy rescued on Monday 16-N a 67-year-old Italian dragged into the high seas by the strong winds of hurricane Iota, category five, in the archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia, in an emergency due to the passage of the tropical cyclone.
The man, identified as Gianfranco del Signore, was on a sailboat in an area known as Los Almendros on the island of San Andrés, the largest in the archipelago, when the strong winds of the hurricane dragged the boat into the sea. , the agency explained.
The community alerted the authorities of the situation and a Coast Guard Rapid Reaction Unit was deployed which, despite the inhospitable conditions caused by the tropical cyclone, reached the site of the emergency and rescued the Italian.
Del Signore, who had stopped in San Andrés on the route from Panama to Guatemala, was taken to a safe harbor and received medical treatment, the Navy said in a statement.
“I stopped in San Andrés to charge up some diesel and change a damaged battery,” said the Italian after being rescued.
He added that due to Hurricane Iota, his ship “bent a lot, the water came in and he didn’t know what to do” in light of the situation he was experiencing.
“I radioed the Navy and the Navy, unbelievable, came fast with winds of 60 knots. He came immediately to get me, took me off the ship and took me to command where everything is. He gave me dry clothes and treated me very well, “said the man after being rescued.
In its 18.00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the hurricane is 130 kilometers (80 m) east-southeast of Puerto Cabezas (Nicaragua) and 100 kilometers (65 m). )) west of the Caribbean island of Providencia, which was held in solitary confinement for about 12 hours.
Iota, which escalated into a major hurricane at dawn on Monday, was moving at 15 kilometers per hour (9 m / h) westbound, northeastern Nicaragua, where it is expected to land, and Eastern Honduras, areas that are under hurricane warning.
The hurricane is hitting the archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia, after leaving chaos and extensive damage in northern mainland Colombia.
San Andrés, which also includes the islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina, is the only island department in Colombia and its economy is based on tourism.
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