Ravi Shankar Ragoonauth’s family is still clinging to hope that he is alive after a body that was found in Surinamese waters turned out to be that of someone else.

Ravi Ragoonauth, 39, of De Willem, West Coast Demerara went missing on July 25 when the trawler he was on caught fire and burned in Surinamese waters. Rescued from the flames were crewmembers, Rameshdatt Narine called ‘Bharrat’ who later died in Suriname and Abdool Sharif Khan who was hospitalized with minor burns.

Ragoonauth, Ravi’s father had said some nearby fishermen picked up Narine and Khan while another vessel picked up Ramjattan. The Surinamese Coast Guard was also at the scene. They were taken to the Suriname mainland where Narine and Khan were taken to a hospital

Captain of the vessel Ramlall Ramjattan also sustained minor burns but was not hospitalised.

Yesterday, via the telephone, Ragoonauth, Ravi’s father, said that his son had travelled to Suriname to identify the body but it tuned out to be that of a drowned man from Paramaribo. His son will remain in Suriname for the rest of the week in hopes of some new information.

“Abbe ah hope that he alive…suh much day pass [but] ah we still get one hope,” Ragoonauth said.

Ragoonauth had told this newspaper that after the incident he was told that the captain said all of the crew had jumped out together. Ragoonauth said he was told that Ravi was in the engine room when the fire started. The incident occurred sometime around 10 pm.

However, he said, he was later told that Narine said he had gone to the engine room to warn Ravi of the fire. “He seh he bin ah go save Ravi in the engine room… when he go down there, is there the fire catch he… He got burn from he head to he toe,” Ragoonauth said. Narine reportedly had to jump through a wall of fire after the flames covered the door through which he had entered to escape.  The boat subsequently sank.

Ravi’s father said that when they get “one genuine clue” that confirms that his son is dead then he will have a memorial service for him. “The bone self. Bring am. I want see it”, Ragoonauth had said previously.

He said the vessel was new and Ravi had been working with it for about six months, while he was a fisherman for about 23 years. Ragoonauth said that his son was separated from his wife and was the father of a 13-year-old boy, who lives with him. He had left a week ago to go fishing, he said.

Meanwhile, the captain and crewmember Abdool Khan are back in Guyana but are directing all questions on the incident to police headquarters, Eve Leary.

When this newspaper contacted the captain, Ramlall Ramjattan, his wife, Rookmin Seecharran said that he “okay” but said that her husband had nothing to say. “Police handling the matter any question go to Eve Leary,” the woman said.

Khan’s wife, Maureen Khan, also directed this newspaper to Eve Leary. She said that her husband was “doing good”. She denied that her husband was burnt in the incident but said that “he’s not feeling well” and that they had visited the hospital yesterday morning.
Local investigation

Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud yesterday said that the Fisheries Department “is collecting as much information it can with the matter and coordinating with local authorities” to determine if the vessel was in local waters or Suriname.

Initially, this newspaper was told that there was unlikely to be a local investigation by the Fisheries Department into this incident given that the vessel was not registered and the incident occurred outside Guyana’s waters.

A statement from the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture said that the trawler did not belong to Guyana’s Fishing Fleet and is not registered with the Fisheries Department. “As such, the vessel was not entitled to engage in any fishing activities within Guyana and is not recognised as a fishing vessel licensed to fish in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” it said.

Ragoonauth had said that the captain claimed that the boat was in Guyana waters when it caught fire. He added that Surinamese authorities were saying that it was a matter to be investigated by Guyanese authorities.