KEY POINTS:
The American engineer who was steering the New Zealand speedboat Earthrace when it hit a Guatemalan fishing skiff saw a flashing light before the collision.
Earthrace ran down the vessel, killing one of three shark fishermen on board.
Anthony Distefano "spotted a small white and red flashing light directly ahead", Earthrace spokeswoman Devann Yata said today.
She said that according to maritime law: "flashing lights are to be used as navigational aids, marking things such as channels.
"Boats are marked with solid white, red and green lights only," she said in a statement.
"Distefano, assumed the flashing light was on some form of beacon, and was checking a GPS system to locate which beacon he was looking at.
"The small size of the bulb gave him the impression the light was still considerable distance away. A few seconds later, Earthrace collided with a small fiberglass fishing vessel."
After the collision the shocked Earthrace crew of three, and one American passenger, saw three fishermen in the water off the stern of the boat, the spokeswoman said.
Carlos Contreras Cruz, 22, the youngest of the fishermen, clambered onto the stern of the boat and collapsed.
Pedro Salazan Gonzalez, 51, remained struggling between the hull of the fishing vessel and the stern of Earthrace.
Earthrace captain Pete Bethune jumped in and helped push the man up to the stern while Mr Distefano pulled him from above.
A third man in the water was thrown a life buoy.
Mr Bethune then dived in to search for the third man.
The missing man has been identified as Julio David Galiano Contreras, 54, and a local newspaper, Prensa Libre today said his wife Giorgina Grijalva, was begging for his body to be recovered.
After 15 minutes of searching from the water, the Earthrace crew decided to start the port engine and circle the area to look for the missing fisherman -- satellite tracking made available by a sponsor shows the boat zig-zagging back and forth around the site of the impact.
The crew made mayday calls on several frequencies in both English and Spanish, and after searching for 90 minutes, went to three other boats fishing to ask for assistance in the search.
"The fishermen were unwilling to help", the spokeswoman said. "Earthrace returned to the collision area and resumed the search for several more hours".
Damage to the boat because of the collision combined with engine problems left Earthrace with a maximum speed of just 5 knots.
The crew faced a new problem when one of the rescued fishermen began complaining of severe pains in his stomach and chest. At five knots it would have taken Earthrace eight hours to reach port.
The spokeswoman said the crew made a second visit to the local fishing vessels and asked them to take the injured man and a crew member, who was a trained doctor, to a hospital.
"The local fishermen again refused to help, despite being offered US$300 ($430) in cash, which were all the funds the crew had at the time".
Shortly before dawn, at 5.20am local time, the Earthrace crew turned for Puerto Quetzal, 40 nautical miles (75km) to the south, still only travelling at 5 knots.
Satellite phone calls were made to the US Coastguard and the US embassy in Guatemala seeking a medical evacuation as Dr David Stark started administering saline solution to try to prop up Mr Gonzalez' failing blood pressure.
At 6.35am, an abortive attempt to use the disabled starboard engine only resulted in most of its oil leaking into the bottom of the boat.
Mr Bethune and Mr Distefano then dived under the boat to try and straighten three bent blades on the 80kg bronze propeller, but were only able to lift the boat speed to 7 knots. At the time of impact, it had been able to achieve about 16 knots on one engine.
They met a naval vessel at 10.05am, and the injured man was transferred to a 5m fishing boat, Dolphin 1, to be taken to hospital.
"Ironically, the crew aboard Dolphin I was the same that had refused to provide assistance the night before," Ms Yata said.
At the Genesis private hospital near Guatemala City, Mr Gonzalez was operated on for a perforated intestine, a perforated stomach, and a fractured sternum, and is now in a stable condition and expected to recover.
"Medical opinion is that the saline solution administered to the patient saved his life," Ms Yata said.
Mr Bethune and his crew and passenger were today still awaiting a delayed court hearing before an investigating judge, who could detain them for six months, or require them to post a bond before leaving the country.
The Prensa Libre reported the Guatemalan Defence Ministry had said in a statement that the $3 million Earthrace boat is the property of National Geographic's Discovery Channel.
- NZPA
