Three Mexicans who survived adrift at sea for nine months threw the bodies of their crewmates overboard. The fishermen were rescued by a trawler last week 5,000 miles from the village of San Blas, which they left in October for a fishing trip.

Despite giving interviews on radio and TV the men failed to mention until yesterday that they had thrown two dead companions overboard. According to a survivor, one man died in January and the other in February because they refused to eat.

The men ran out of petrol soon after setting off on the 25ft boat, and were forced to survive by eating raw seabirds and fish. They drank rainwater and kept spirits high by reading bible passages and praying together.