Valencia CF coach lost with kids in boat tragedy

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Indonesian rescuers have found the body of Spanish football coach Fernando Martin after the boat he was sailing in with his family sank near the coast

Reuters

Friday, 2 January 2026 | Updated 04/01/2026 11:48h.

Indonesian rescuers have found a body presumed to be that of the Spanish football coach missing after the boat he and he family were sailing in capsized on Friday last week.

The body was found on Sunday, the tenth and last day the international search team had assigned to the rescue operation.

Fernando Martin, who coached Valencia CF's women's B team, had been missing after the boat he was sailing in with his family sank near the coast of a popular tourist spot on 23 December, the country's rescue agency said. Martin was a coach with Valencia CF women's squad. The club said he and his three children died "in the tragic boat accident in Indonesia, as confirmed by authorities".

On Monday the body of Lia, 12, the daughter of Fernando's wife Andrea was found. Two boys, Mateo, 9 and Quique, 10, were also lost in the accident. His wife Andrea and her seven-year-old daughter survived the accident.

The boat Martin and his family were on capsized on Friday 23 December after suffering engine failure during bad weather in the Padar Island Strait, close to the resort town of Labuan Bajo, authorities said. The location is near the Komodo National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site where the rare Komodo dragons live.