The bodies of three more Guyanese were reported to have been found in Venezuelan waters after a tragic boating accident on Sunday, bringing the death toll to seven.
Reports say that most of the deceased had been living in Venezuela for a number of years. Details of the calamity have been hard to come by.
Stabroek News was told that three more bodies were found yesterday bringing the total to seven dead. On Wednesday, it was reported that Joel King, 22; Simone Khan, 40; Margaret Khan, 60; and five year old Melissa Khan had perished in the accident. In addition to the four bodies that were found on Wednesday, another three were found yesterday. Dead are 14 year old Pamela Khan, 23 year old Damian Welch and Nikita Welch, the reports say.
While it was earlier reported that the boat that was destined for Guyana capsized because of an accident, Stabroek News was made to understand yesterday that the disaster was a result of the boat being overloaded.
The boat was carrying 14 persons, 12 adults and 2 children, and was loaded with goods. It was related to Stabroek News by a relative of King, one of the deceased, that the boat started to sink while it was crossing the border. After noticing the boat going down, King started to panic and grabbed onto someone and was subsequently accidentally hit in the face, falling unconscious and into the water and drowning.
Stabroek News was told that the boat went down not too far from the shore and so seven persons were able to swim to safety.
