Some stories just suck the air out of you:

El titular dice:

"Tres médicos venezolanos mueren en alta mar cuando intentaban llevar insumos desde Trinidad a sus pacientes".

Lloro. pic.twitter.com/VyAiR9Xlkz — Adriana Bertorelli (@adribertorelli) May 8, 2017

The story in a Trinidadian newspaper, says three Venezuelan MD were pronounced dead after drowning at sea this past weekend. They’d travelled to Trinidad in desperate search of medical supplies no longer available in Venezuela. They died during the return trip.

According to the source above Venezuelan authorities were notified about the spill.

The report says the doctors —who have not been named— were travelling together with three others, who managed to survive. The entire group had arrived by boat at Trinidad on April 28. Their ship’s cooling system was reportedly clogged by an oil spill from a tanker by T&T’s oil company, Petrotrin. The ship drifted for days and eventually began to take on water. Reports indicate the vessel eventually sank.

According to Trindad’s Guardian newspaper, it’s not unusual for Venezuelans to dock at Trinidad to look for food and basic medical supplies.

When found (in Venezuelan waters), the crew was taken to Güiria.

Crew members were identified as: Fernando Eustadillo, Mariana Revilla, Leobel Barcelli, Luis González, Jesús B. Montano and Luis León Guerra. According to the source above Venezuelan authorities were notified about the spill.

The story has been reported in at least two media outlets in Trinidad (though only one is online.) It’s a measure of the state of press freedom in Venezuela that no one has reported it on our side.

May my colleagues rest in peace.