Two persons were injured following a river mishap involving two boats that were transporting persons who were returning from a wedding house in Batavia Village in Region Seven.
The two boats collided in the Mazaruni River early Monday morning.
Clifton Adams and Victorine Miguel were injured. Adams suffered a dislocated elbow, while Miguel sustained injuries to the forehead.
A police release stated that each boat had four occupants. Those in the first boat, a canoe, were: Victorine Miguel, Clifton Adams, Tyndall Miguel, and Aaron Miguel, all of Batavia Village.
The occupants of the other boat (with outboard engine) were: Junior Gaddett called ‘Bird’ (an unlicensed captain) and three passengers; Edeena Smith, Ishmael Smith, and Temera Smith also of Batavia Village.
Enquiries revealed that on Sunday, the aforementioned individuals were guests at a wedding celebration held at the residence of Devon Boyal at Batavia Village.
At about 0150 hours on Monday morning, the occupants of the canoe boarded and departed the landing near the wedding house. Adams and Miguel were the persons with paddles. At about 0200 hours, the occupants boarded the other boat captained by Junior Gaddett and departed the landing.
The area was very dark, so an occupant from the first, Miguel, used the light from a cellphone in the hope that Gaddett would see him. However, Gaddett did not, and the boat collided with the canoe, throwing the occupants of the canoe overboard. Upon realising what had occurred, Gaddett rendered assistance and rescued all the occupants of the canoe and took them to land.
Upon checking, two persons were observed to be injured, namely: Miguel and Adams. They were transported to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where they admitted. Investigations are in progress.
