- Tragedy. These are the four disappeared before the great DANA
DNA tests have confirmed that the two bodies found floating on the east coast of Mallorca are of the German navigator and his 19-year-old son who were shipwrecked on August 27. They thus officially become the only two fatalities of the DANA that hit the Balearic archipelago at that time.
Jan Bokemeyer and Gustav set sail from Menorca aboard their sailboat, the Makan Angin, which after the shipwreck has never been located. They had planned to make the crossing to the east of Mallorca, but the ship did not reach its destination.
Bokemeyer, born in Frankfurt in 1970, had been a professional basketball player in Germany. He went on to play 80 games in the Bundesliga, and his disappearance caused a great impact on his country.
The journey and the trip to the Balearic Islands were a symbolic farewell to the ship, with which its owner had sailed for more than two decades. After the crossing he intended to sell it, according to the German press. In the middle of the journey, and with very complicated weather conditions, they completely lost the track.
The hope of finding them alive faded as the days went by. After the discovery of the two bodies two weeks later, caution prevailed until the tragic confirmation and identification of the bodies, which was announced today.
The Civil Guard has confirmed on Monday that the lifeless bodies found on September 4 and 5 thanks to the collaboration of navigators in the area were the two crew members of the sailboat disappeared in the Menorca channel on August 27.
The Armed Institute has explained that with the collaboration of the German police authorities and the Department of Biology of the Criminalistics Service of the Civil Guard, based in Madrid, it has identified the bodies by analyzing the genetic profiles of the remains found.
These coincide with those sent by the German authorities and correspond to those missing on August 27, two German citizens, father and son.