Overview
- A boat carrying five people and a load of firewood suffered a sudden engine failure on Friday, May 22, and two men fell into the Apurímac River and were swept away.
- Local residents, families and municipal search teams led multi-day operations that first recovered the body of 57-year-old Clemente Curo Huamán on May 25.
- Diario Jornada reported that the second missing man, 60-year-old Emilio Quihui, was found dead on the morning of May 26 after searches extended between the districts of Pichari and Sivia.
- Both men had been returning to the Piriato Sorza settlement after collecting firewood for an evangelical church activity when the mechanical failure left the boat at the mercy of strong currents.
- The case underscores how common river transport, powerful currents and limited rapid-response resources in the Vraem complicate travel safety and local rescue efforts.