Second soldier’s body recovered

Almost five days after he went down in the dark waters of the Cuyuni River following a boat collision, the decomposing remains of 21-year-old 20523 Lance Corporal Colwin Harris was yesterday recovered.

The body of Corporal Wesley Hopkinson who had also gone missing after a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) boat collided with a civilian vessel on Monday night was found some 15 miles from the scene on Thursday.

In spite of this Harris’s relatives had been still clutching to the hope that he would be found alive. That hope died after his body was found at the mouth of the Ekereku River at approximately 10.45 am yesterday.

According to a GDF press release, the army has assured Harris’s family that it is committed to providing its fullest support for the interment of his body.

Contacted yesterday the man’s mother Shaundell Headley said she was told was that the body was found some time during yesterday morning. At the time she was speaking to this newspaper, she was making her way to the Lyken’s Funeral Home, where the remains were to be taken.

The army had said in an earlier release that investigations have so far revealed that six soldiers were aboard a GDF vessel which collided with a civilian vessel in the Cuyuni  River around 20:30 hours on Monday.

Preliminary reports, the army said, indicated that four of the soldiers were thrown into the river by the force of the collision and two of them made it back to the safety of the boat, while 27-year-old Hopkinson and Harris did not. Their colleagues immediately set about scouring the area in an effort to locate them.

The release which was issued on Thursday further stated that search parties included help from the civilian population in the area were launched resulting in the discovery of Hopkinson’s body some 15 miles from where the accident occurred.

Chief of Staff Gary Best during his visits to relatives updated them on the current investigations and promised a full report at its conclusion.

A senior army source told this newspaper on Wednesday that a Board of Inquiry has already launched an investigation into how the accident occurred and why the men were on the water.

The six soldiers who were stationed at Eteringbang were engaged in one of their periodic patrols of the area when the mishap occurred, the army had said.

So far the army has not released any information on the civilian vessel.

Meanwhile, the captain of the GDF vessel was questioned by the police on Friday, a senior army source said.