Post-mortem examinations yesterday determined that Corentyne fishermen Kawal Kissoon, and Lamar Petrie both drowned after they suffered severe head injuries.
Both autopsies were done at the Anthony Funeral Parlour at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice.
The two men were part of a four-man crew of fishermen who left a private wharf at Number 65 Village, Corentyne, on SARA 1 to fish in Suriname on the morning of Saturday, October 5th.
They were expected to return 14 days after, however, their boat was discovered floating aback Cromarty Village, Corentyne, with evidence of blood, a missing engine and seine last Saturday.
The first body, that of Kissoon, also known as ‘Ajai,’ 36, of Lot 233 Letter Kenny, Corentyne, was discovered on Friday along the Abary foreshore. His wife positively identified his body on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, the second body, that of Petrie, 20, of Lot 9 Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, was discovered along the foreshore of Good Faith, Mahaicony.
According to relatives, the men are expected to be laid to rest at the Letter Kenny Burial Ground today.
The fishermen who are still missing are boat captain Vishnu Seeram, also known as ‘Kevin,’ 20, of Port Mourant, Corentyne, and Marvin Tamasar, also known as ‘Buddy,’ 20, of Lot 305 Port Mourant, Corentyne.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News was told yesterday that the Criminal Investigation Department in Georgetown is handling the investigation. Furthermore, relatives claimed that they have since provided police in the division with names of two persons they believe might have knowledge of what may have led to the men’s deaths.
Those two persons are also fishermen.
On Monday, the owner of the boat visited the homes of the relatives of the fishermen. He also provided a boat yesterday to assist with the ongoing search. That boat was deployed to the West Coast Berbice area with lawmen yesterday to continue to search for the missing men in the areas where the two bodies were found.
Initially, relatives had said that they had not heard from the boat owner. However, after a recent article in this newspaper the boat owner made contact with them.
As of yesterday afternoon, the relatives of the men had still not yet heard any official word from the authorities.
Meanwhile, some Corentyne residents, relatives of the missing men, the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region Six Gobin Harbhajan and police took to the Corentyne foreshore yesterday to continue the search. However, as of last evening there were no sightings of any bodies.
