As reported by the new Zealand newspaper the New Zealand Herald in early may in Panama city in an attack the pirates standing at anchor a boat was lost yachtsman Alan Culverwell.
The pirates shot him when he tried to protect his family, and his wife was attacked with a machete. It all happened in the province of Guna Yala, near the island of Morozov, a popular tourist resort. A yachtsman was killed and his wife injured, a blow to the head also received a 11-year-old daughter. The attackers stole an outboard motor and fled with the boat.
The woman found the strength to contact a friend in New Zealand who organized help. Two hours later, after the attack had been arrested three men.
President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela apologized on local television in front of family Culverwell.
For the family it was a tragic end of “travel dreams” for which they sold the house in New Zealand and bought a 65-foot yacht to go all the way from USA to New Zealand.
