Salvador Alvarenga, who survived for 438 days adrift at sea, is now being sued by his fellow fisherman's family amid accusations that he ate Ezequiel Cordoba's corpse
A fisherman who stunned the world by surviving 15 months lost at sea is being sued for $1 million (£650,000) by the family of his dead colleague, who accuse him of eating their relative to ensure his own survival.
Salvador Alvarenga, 36, is the only man known to have survived for over a year at sea.
And when he set sail from the coast of Mexico in November 2012, he thought he was setting out on a two-day fishing trip, having paid 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba $50 to accompany him.
Alvarenga's lawyer denies the allegation of cannibalism, saying the Cordoba family is trying to make a quick buck now that Alvarenga has become famous. Alvarenga's lawyer notes the lawsuit was filed days after the release of 438 Days, a book about the fisherman's survival. "I believe that this demand is part of the pressure from this family to divide the proceeds of royalties," he says, adding that Cordoba's family had demanded 50% of the profits back in April. "Many believe the book is making my client a rich man, but what he will earn is much less than people think." Alvarenga has said he and Cordoba survived months together before the increasingly distraught younger man finally succumbed to hunger. He says he kept the corpse on the boat for six days, chatting with it for company, before coming to his senses and throwing it overboard.
A fisherman who stunned the world by surviving 15 months lost at sea is being sued for $1 million (£650,000) by the family of his dead colleague, who accuse him of eating their relative to ensure his own survival.
Salvador Alvarenga, 36, is the only man known to have survived for over a year at sea.
And when he set sail from the coast of Mexico in November 2012, he thought he was setting out on a two-day fishing trip, having paid 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba $50 to accompany him.
Alvarenga's lawyer denies the allegation of cannibalism, saying the Cordoba family is trying to make a quick buck now that Alvarenga has become famous. Alvarenga's lawyer notes the lawsuit was filed days after the release of 438 Days, a book about the fisherman's survival. "I believe that this demand is part of the pressure from this family to divide the proceeds of royalties," he says, adding that Cordoba's family had demanded 50% of the profits back in April. "Many believe the book is making my client a rich man, but what he will earn is much less than people think." Alvarenga has said he and Cordoba survived months together before the increasingly distraught younger man finally succumbed to hunger. He says he kept the corpse on the boat for six days, chatting with it for company, before coming to his senses and throwing it overboard.
