(Trinidad Guardian) The search is ongoing for Able Seaman Keiron Simon, who was pulled underwater inside a sinking vessel during a multinational drug bust in local waters between T&T and Grenada on Thursday.
The operation potentially prevented 1.3 tonnes of cocaine from entering the country.
Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and the T&T Coast Guard (TTCG) yesterday confirmed the disappearance of Simon, who is a father to a three-year-old boy.
Hinds said his family has been briefed on the situation.
“I, too, would like to extend to them my deep concern and to share their worry and pain at this stage,” Hinds told Guardian Media.
He also acknowledged the bravery of national security personnel who put their lives on the line every day.
“We, at the level of National Security, understand that we call on these young and brave members of the Defence Force, the police service, the fire service, the prison service, to act in the way they are trained to and so on, too, to protect us. And very unfortunately, on some occasions, and this is one of them, unfortunate circumstances develop arising out of their bravery and their courage and their sense of duty to Trinidad and Tobago. It’s a rather sad state of affairs for all of us,” Hinds said.
He told Guardian Media that the TTCG had been engaged in a counter-trafficking operation just off the island of Grenada with international and regional partners at the time of the incident.
“And in that context, two of our maritime assets, CG41 and CG23, were deployed, and they made it to the zone and the operation ensued. And eventually, this very unfortunate circumstance developed out of it.
“But in the whole operation, I am told that 1.3 tonnes of poison… what appears to be the drug cocaine, was on its way to Trinidad and Tobago,” Hinds said.
In a media release yesterday, the TTCG stated that it had been conducting a boarding exercise on a vessel of interest when the incident occurred.
A TTCG patrol boat intercepted the vessel and transferred three foreign nationals onto the patrol boat for safekeeping when the intercepted vessel began taking on water.
While this transfer was taking place, Simon and another sailor remained onboard the seized vessel. One of them attempted to check whether there were any other persons aboard, but before he could do so, rough seas caused the vessel to submerge suddenly. The sailor who had remained above deck was thrown into the water, while Simon became trapped inside as the vessel disappeared beneath the waves.
Attempts were made to secure lines to the sinking vessel, but its size and rapid descent made this impossible. The coast guardsman thrown into the water was quickly rescued, and search efforts remain ongoing for his missing colleague.
The TTCG reaffirmed its commitment to combatting transnational crime and securing the nation’s maritime borders, stating that further details on the incident would be provided as the situation develops.
An insider yesterday revealed that the incident has taken an emotional toll on Simon’s colleagues. The source noted that Simon had been in the service for many years and had even trained officers.
This marks the second major unfortunate incident involving the TTCG this year.
Last month, the Coast Guard lost a mystery pirogue containing the decomposing corpses of five unidentified individuals during a recovery operation.
That vessel, discovered near the Cassia platform, slipped from a towline in rough seas east of Mayaro and drifted out of sight. Despite extensive search efforts, the TTCG could not relocate the pirogue, which it presumed had sunk due to its severely deteriorated state.
That incident was compared to the ghastly discovery of a boat containing the bodies of African migrants off the coast of Tobago in May 2021.
