Italy narrows search for missing Burgos entrepreneur to last location from which his boat transmitted signal

The AIS signal is transmitted via VHF radio frequencies and enables vessels to broadcast their position and other relevant data so that stations, ships or other commercial or recreational craft can receive this information and avoid collisions.

The Spanish couple's boat last trasmitted a signal on the day of the accident, 18 August, approximately 120 miles south-east of Capo Spartivento, in the Calabria region.

The Reggio Calabria coastguard's maritime rescue centre is coordinating the search operations with vessels and aerial resources.

The efforts have so far yielded no results and the difficulty of the search is increasing with each passing day. Mutilba has been missing at sea for seven days and, although the search area is limited to the AIS signal transmitted by his vessel, it still covers an area of several nautical miles in the Mediterranean.

Carmen and one of her sons, Sergio Mutilba, returned to their home in Burgos on Monday. Another of the couple's sons remained in Greece to make the necessary arrangements and closely monitor the progress of the operation, while another relative travelled to Rome to attend a meeting with the Spanish Consulate.

Juan José Mutilba set sail with his wife, Carmen Díez, on his sailing boat on Monday, 17 August, from Syracuse, in Italy, bound for Pylos, in Greece. It was the following day that he suffered the fatal accident.

According to his wife's account, he accidentally fell overboard while cleaning the boat from the blood of a tuna he had just caught.

Carmen, in a state of shock, was unable to stop the boat, which continued to drift further and further away from Juan José, who was left behind in the water.

According to the timeline of events, Carmen spent three days adrift, alone and cut off from the outside world, until she managed to get a signal and made a call to a close friend who was following their journey.

It was he who alerted the Spanish maritime rescue service, which, in turn, raised the alarm with the Italian authorities.

Carmen was escorted to Pylos, in Greece, where her children and other relatives were waiting. There, she received psychological support, while her son Sergio said that they were not being given any information about the search operation.

On Tuesday, they returned to Burgos, hoping that the search for Juan José at sea would not be called off.

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