Search operations continued in the Mediterranean for Spanish businessman Juan José Mutilba, 66, after he went missing at sea between Sicily and Greece. Mutilba reportedly fell overboard on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, while sailing with his wife from Siracusa, Sicily, to Pilos, Greece. The couple planned the voyage as part of their sailing activities after his retirement.
Family accounts said the accident happened early Tuesday morning. Mutilba reportedly slipped on fish blood after catching a tuna and fell into the water. His wife, aboard the vessel, could not raise the alarm immediately because the boat was beyond mobile-phone coverage. Without an early distress call, the vessel drifted as she remained on board.
On Friday, 21 August, after approximately three days adrift, the woman regained a mobile signal and contacted a family friend with navigation expertise, who alerted the authorities. Greek rescuers later found the drifting boat and brought it to Pilos, where she was rescued alive. The search for Mutilba continued across the maritime area between Sicily and Greece. Italian authorities narrowed the search area to the last position associated with the vessel’s signal, while Italian and Greek services took part in the operation.
Aythami Pérez Miguel and Gloria Díez, reporting for El Norte de Castilla, described the delay as “three long days without mobilising rescue teams” and reported that the wife could not seek help while out of coverage. Their coverage also detailed the route from Siracusa to Pilos and the boat’s subsequent rescue. A separate report by Laura Villarraga in Colombia’s El Tiempo, published on 23 August, identified Mutilba as a 66-year-old Spanish businessman who fell from his boat between Italy and Greece.
The family also contacted the Spanish embassy in Rome to request support. The case shows the communication challenges of emergencies at sea, particularly when a vessel is outside mobile-phone coverage and an incident occurs far from shore. Similar incidents have focused attention on emergency response, including the fatal accident involving a pedestrian in Madrid.
Private sailing between Mediterranean ports routinely involves international waters and coordination across national jurisdictions. Mutilba’s disappearance left Italian and Greek rescue services searching the corridor between Sicily and Greece after the boat and his wife had reached Pilos.
