A Venezuelan mother saved her two children after a shipwreck by breastfeeding them, while she drank her own urine for survival but unfortunately died leaving behind the two kids. Mariely Chacón, 40, a Venezuelan, kept her two children Jose David and Maria Beatriz Camblor Chacon alive after their boat was destroyed by a wave during a trip to an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
She continued to breastfeed her two kids for four days while they floated on the wreckage 70 miles out to sea. And in order to keep herself hydrated to supply enough breast milk she started drinking her own urine but died on the boat itself.
Mother's Love
The incident took place on September 3 when Chacón was aboard the Thor along with 6-year-old Josh, 2-year-old Maria, husband and nanny for a pleasure cruise from Higuerote to Tortuga Island in the Caribbean when disaster struck. While the boat was sailing, a huge wave struck and broke its hull apart, forcing the group to spend four days adrift on a lifeboat in the blazing sun.
Chacon soon realized that her children need to be fed and the only thing that she could prove was her breast milk. The desperate mother then started drinking her own urine to produce enough milk for the two children.
She continued doing it for four days and managed to keep Josh and Maria alive. Unfortunately, by the time help arrived, Chacon had died due to dehydration. Rescuers found the children holding their mother's body on the remains of the vessel and they were rushed to hospital with dehydration and first-degree burns.
According to local media reports, the nanny, who was also on the boat along with Chacon and the two kids, managed to survive by hiding in a fridge to escape the heat.
A Family Tragedy
Officials later confirmed that Chacon, who died from organ failure caused by dehydration, kept her children alive by drinking her own urine so she could breastfeed them. A source quoted by newspaper La República said the Chacon's vital organs had collapsed because of electrolyte depletion.
Her wise decision to drink her own urine saved the lives of her two children but the shipwreck has left the entire family torn apart. Five others on board the boat, including Chacon's husband and the children's father Remis David Camblor are still missing.
Venezuela's National Maritime Authority INEA said the lifeboat was spotted at 6:20 pm September 6 drifting off the island of La Orchila, The Sun reported. The coast guard vessel AB Carecare reached the craft at 2:10 pm the next day, it added.
"The mother who died kept her children alive by breastfeeding them and drinking her own urine," an INEA spokesman said. "She died three or four hours before the rescue from dehydration after drinking no water for three days."
Chacon funeral, which was held in Caracas on September 11, was broadcast on YouTube. Humberto Chacón, the woman's father, said the boat voyage was "simply a family trip to entertain the children." A search is on for Chacon's husband and the other members on board the boat.
