The body of Hazrat Alli, the missing passenger from a boat collision near the Bartica Stelling on Tuesday night, was yesterday afternoon found at Kaow Island, Essequibo River.
Alli, 54, of Lot 13 Hadfield Street, Werk-en-Rust was discovered around 4:45 pm entangled in grass just off the island’s shore. The island is about an hour’s journey from where the accident occurred.
Alli who owns a fowl farm at Paper Pulp, which is located about four to five miles from Bartica, and a tailor shop at his Georgetown residence, frequently visited the island which has a sawmill to collect wood shavings. He used the shavings on his farm.
The man was leaving Bartica in a small boat with three friends around 7:15 pm on Tuesday when his vessel collided with a passenger boat coming from Parika.
Police reports are that Omesh Todd, a boat captain and three passengers, David and Jim Todd (no addresses given) and Alli were travelling in a northerly direction.
The other vessel which was captained by Mark Mushett was travelling in the opposite direction en route to Bartica.
As they were about to pass each other, the release said the boat captained by Mushett collided with the right side of the boat captained by Todd. As a result of this the occupants in Todd’s boat were thrown overboard.
According to the police, Omesh, David and Jim Todd were rescued and they suffered minor injuries. They were admitted to the hospital after the accident.
When Stabroek News visited Alli’s Werk-en-Rust home about half an hour after the body was found many friends and relatives had gathered.
The man’s wife Zarina Bacchus who was in tears told this newspaper that someone passing the area saw something strange floating at the side of the island and immediately went to Bartica where persons were informed. The grieving woman said that it appears that several boats went to the area to see what it was and the searchers stumbled upon the body of her husband.
She said that the body will be brought to Georgetown today and a post mortem will be done after which funeral arrangements will be made.
Around 4:30 pm, Superintendent Sandy, the officer-in-charge of the Bartica Police Station told Stabroek News that ranks were out in boats earlier searching for Alli.
He informed this newspaper that the captain of the passenger boat, who was released on station bail, was also helping in the search for the missing man.
The boat captain was instructed to return to the station on a daily basis and with the discovery of the body he could be charged.
Superintendent Sandy said that the other boat operators in the area had been asked to be on the lookout for the missing man’s body.
When Stabroek News visited the man’s family yesterday morning, relatives were optimistic about the body being recovered.
Bacchus told Stabroek News that her husband had been operating the fowl farm for the last fifteen years and the tailor shop for several decades.
She had stated that whenever he had sewing at the shop he would leave the farm and come home. The three persons who were in the boat, she said, would look after the farm while he was away.
Bacchus said that earlier that day (Tuesday) her husband had taken chicken to Bartica to sell and was returning to Paper Pulp at the time of the accident.
Bacchus told this newspaper that she was the last person to speak to her husband on that tragic day.
She recounted that at exactly 4:41 pm he called to tell her that he was leaving the riverain community since the water was getting rough and he wanted to get home before dark. Bacchus said that travelling on the river at night was something her husband had done several times before.
Bacchus said she learnt of the accident from the police who called her around 11 pm on Tuesday. She said that the police went out searching the river that night but when her son went to Bartica on Wednesday ranks told him that they had no boat. As a result of this she said he hired a boat and engine and helped to search for his father. She said her son had to pay for gasoline to run the vessel.
Relatives from the inception had believed that the body had drifted downriver because of the strong water current. Persons however continued to search the area where the two vessels collided.
It is believed that Alli bore the full impact of the collision, which resulted in him being the only person to go below the surface of the water.
Following the accident the pilot of the passenger boat was taken to the Bartica Police Station for questioning. A resident of the area had expressed concern about the manner in which the passenger boat approached the stelling.
According to the man the boat, which had a full load, was navigating without lights and was speeding. When it hit the smaller boat, he said, it reached right up to the stelling before it was able to return to the point of impact to assist the persons who had fallen overboard.