Four people, including renowned Peruvian paleontologist Mario Urbina, have been missing in the rugged Nazca desert in the Ica region of Peru since Monday, July 21. Urbina, recognized for his scientific discoveries on the southern coast of Peru, was conducting fieldwork in the area when all contact was lost.
According to El Comercio, Urbina's vehicle suffered a breakdown on Monday, and he went missing along with a friend and two assistants. The group was last in communication when they reported the mechanical failure of their truck. Shortly after, all contact was lost, and the last registered location of their cellphone was near Cerro Criterión, close to the San Fernando National Reserve.
Firefighters and Civil Defense initiated a search operation in the challenging terrain around Criterión hill. The rugged and hard-to-access area complicates rescue efforts due to its multiple routes. "Search efforts began on Tuesday with the support of firefighters," said Wenceslao Huamaní, a Civil Defense technician, according to El Comercio. "The terrain where the search is being conducted is rugged and has multiple access routes, complicating the efforts to locate Mario Urbina and his companions."
Family members are increasingly concerned about the group's welfare. There are fears that they may not have sufficient water or food to survive more days in the desert. "They went to the Nazca desert in search of fossils... and we don't know anything about them," said María Elena Delgado, the wife of one of the missing individuals, according to RPP Noticias. Due to the lack of news, she requested that airplanes or drones be used to expedite the search for the entire team that has been missing since yesterday.
There is speculation that one of the group members may have attempted to reach the Panamericana Sur highway on foot in search of help.
Mario Urbina is renowned for his discovery of Perucetus colossus, a prehistoric cetacean that lived 39 million years ago. Discovered sixteen years ago while exploring the Samaca area in Ica in 2013, this find gained international acclaim. Perucetus colossus is considered the heaviest animal that ever existed on Earth, with Nature magazine estimating its weight would have exceeded that of the blue whale.
Urbina began his work as a self-taught paleontologist in the 1980s and since contributed to the discovery of various species. Despite not having formal studies in paleontology, his dedication and passion led to contributions in the field. Some of the fossils he discovered, such as those of Perucetus, are currently exhibited in the Museum of Natural History of the National University of San Marcos.
In 2019, Urbina identified the fossil of the only four-legged whale found in South America, further cementing his reputation in paleontological circles.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.