Four persons are missing following a boat mishap at the Matouk Falls on the Cuyuni River this morning.
The police this evening issued the following statement:
“At about 1030h. today Saturday May 25, 2013, a boat with seven men on board capsized in the Matuk Falls, Cuyuni, area. Four of the men are missing and are feared to have drowned.
The boat was captained by Junior Lyte, 19 years, of Batavia, Cuyuni, assisted by Clive Welcome, 19 years, of First Avenue, Bartica. At Aranka, Cuyuni, they had collected Shawn Robinson, William Patwa, and David Prass, 26 years, all of New Amsterdam, Berbice; along with Junior Bandhu, 35 years, of Tuschen, EBE, and Maurice Hopkinson of Second Avenue, Bartica, en route to Bartica.
While in the Matuk Falls area both of the engines of the vessel failed and it subsequently capsized. The crew of another boat in the area rescued Junior Lyte, David Prass and Maurice Hopkinson.
The other four men are unaccounted for and the search is continuing.
“There was a mishap,” Region Seven chairman Gordon Bradford told Stabroek News this morning. “I just heard that the boat sink.” Bradford said that of the seven persons onboard the vessel which was heading to gold mining operations upriver, three, including the boat captain, are accounted for and four are missing.
The official said that the incident occurred shortly after 10am today and while the exact circumstances of how it occurred are unclear, he suggested that the boat, which would have been heavily laden for the trip to the interior, might have capsized while heading up the falls.
The boat captain is currently being interviewed by officers at the Bartica Police Station. One of the missing men has been identified as Clive Welcome of Bartica while two others were said to have come from New Amsterdam. Another of the missing men is reportedly an employee of a mining company.
Bradford said that Matouk Falls is about an hour from Bartica.
Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn told Stabroek News that the army’s helicopter has been deployed to the area in a search and rescue mission.