Andre Williams, STAR Writer

Three Jamaican fishermen who were adrift at sea for 18 days before being rescued by the Mexican Navy are back on local soil.

According to reports, the lost fishermen returned to the island last Friday.

Information reaching THE STAR is that the trio, Glenval Hall, Patrick Warren and Nakaya Bennett, were rescued on July 30 near Cozumel, Mexico, after initially embarking on a fishing expedition aboard their 36-foot canoe on July 12.

A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Investigation by our intelligence concludes the boat developed engine trouble and while the men were attempting to manoeuvre the engine onboard for repairs, it fell into the sea."

Reports are that the men were taken to the immigration centre in Cozumel by their rescuers.

A medical doctor examined them before they were transferred to another immigration centre in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

THE STAR was informed that Ambassador Delrose Montague, who heads the Jamaican Embassy in Mexico, assisted the men in securing airline tickets to allow them to return home.

During the time the men remained at the centre, the Embassy of Jamaica in Mexico reportedly maintained daily communication with them and their families.

According to the source at the ministry, the men are in high spirits and are making arrangements to recover the canoe and move on from the ordeal.

The fishermen apparently had no negative experience during their stay at the immigration centre in Mexico according the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.