-jumped into water after boat began to sink
The police are investigating an incident in Puruni which occurred on Tuesday in which Lance Corporal 23647 Jermaine Batson is believed to have drowned.
The police said in a release yesterday that the incident also involved Constable 24612 Quincy Marks and Ransdale Melville, a 30-year-old boat captain from Third Avenue, Bartica.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the three individuals departed from Puruni Landing at approximately 9 am on Tuesday in a wooden boat measuring twelve feet in length and three feet in width, powered by a 40-horsepower Yamaha engine.
The boat was to undertake a patrol along the Puruni River. Constable Marks was seated in the middle of the boat, unarmed but fully dressed in uniform while Batson, also in the middle, was armed with one Taurus pistol containing 15 matching rounds and similarly dressed in uniform. Melville was positioned at the rear of the boat, operating the engine.
At about 11:45 am, while navigating upstream, the boat’s engine cut off, causing water to enter the vessel and leading to a partial sinking. As the boat began to sink, Batson jumped into the river. The boat subsequently drifted downstream, prompting Constable Marks and Melville to jump onto a nearby rock to prevent the boat from being carried away by the current.
They managed to secure the boat by tying it to a branch. At this point, Constable Marks observed Batson holding onto a branch on the opposite side of the river and engaged in a brief conversation with him. Batson confirmed that he was unharmed and inquired about the status of Constable Marks and Melville.
While Marks and Melville were bailing water out of the boat to restart the engine, they noticed that Batson was no longer visible. After conducting a brief search and failing to locate him, they proceeded to restart the boat and continued their search efforts. When these efforts proved unsuccessful, Constable Marks and Melville walked to a nearby camp to access WiFi and reported the incident. Following the report, they returned to the river to resume search operations.
Upon receiving the report, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chaitram, Detective Sergeant (D/Sgt) Jonas, and Constable Watts were dispatched to investigate the incident. Further updates on the investigation will be provided, the release said.
The incident will raise questions about the apparent absence of life jackets and the quality of river craft that the police are conducting patrols with.
