Nearly a week after the body of missing fisherman Samuel Chi was recovered off the coast of Belize, official forensic pathology results have confirmed his cause of death: asphyxia sustained from drowning. No evidence of foul play, external violence or traumatic injury was detected on Chi’s remains during the forensic examination, according to Acting Superintendent Stacy Smith of the Belize Police Department.
The official investigation into the maritime incident that claimed Chi’s life remains active, as authorities continue to piece together the full sequence of events that led to the two fishermen being stranded at sea. “We are guided entirely by the findings of the forensic pathologist, which have definitively concluded the death was a result of asphyxia by drowning,” Smith stated in a public briefing on the case.
The timeline of the incident began on a Sunday in early August, when Chi and his fishing companion Albert Vaccaro set out from Caye Caulker bound for Belize City. The pair never arrived at their destination, triggering a search and rescue operation by local authorities. A day before Chi’s body was pulled from the water near Hick’s Caye — roughly eight miles north of Belize City — rescuers found Vaccaro alive adrift at sea, though he was suffering from severe dehydration.
To date, Vaccaro has not been able to provide a formal, detailed statement to investigating officers, as he remains focused on recovering from his ordeal at sea. When Vaccaro was first rescued, he was too physically compromised to share a clear account of what went wrong during the voyage, and Smith confirmed she has not yet received an update on whether his condition has improved enough for him to speak with lead investigators.
Early in the investigation, authorities noted two key potential contributing factors to the incident: the small vessel the men were operating was assessed as unseaworthy, and unfavorable weather conditions may have also played a role in the men becoming stranded. As the probe continues, investigators will work to fill in gaps in the timeline, in part relying on the statement Vaccaro is expected to give once his recovery is complete.