A family fishing expedition at Lake Chapala ended in tragedy late last week when the father of the clan drowned at the Ajijic waterfront.
The victim was identified as a 52-year-old resident of Tlajomulco de Zuñiga who had accompanied his family for a day-trip outing Thursday, August 15. While fishing just off shore in the vicinity of Las Crucitas at the foot of Calle Nicolás Bravo, the man’s son apparently stepped into deep water, putting his life in peril. The father rushed to the rescue, only to become trapped himself while saving the boy.
Around 6:30 p.m., when he had not emerged, local witnesses called for help. Personnel from Chapala’s Civil Protection and Firefighters outfit were first to arrive on the scene, followed later by rescuers from the state Protección Civil unit based in Poncitlán who came equipped with diving gear. An unsuccessful search was called off when night fell.
The rescue operation was resumed the following morning. The victim’s body was finally located and recovered around 11:30 a.m. from a spot on the west side of the pier, approximately 400 meters away from the point where he became lost.