“Backtrack” mishap: Two bodies recovered; one person still missing

The police in East Berbice Corentyne were able to recover the bodies of body persons who were reported to have drowned after arriving in Guyana using the popular “backtrack’ route between from neighbouring Suriname on Monday.

The bodies recovered are those of 75 year old Baboni Harihar of number 2 village Corentyne Berbice and Alvin Joseph of number 65 village on the Corentyne. Still missing is 48 year old Sharida Hussein of Pilot Street New Amsterdam.

Big Smith News Watch understands that the three passengers left Nikerie in Suriname at about 19:00 hours in a fishing vessel and was expected to arrive at the Number 63 beach at about 20:00 on Monday. However, they contacted relatives and informed them that they arrived but the area was dark and had no idea where they were and that the water was raising.

Daughter of the elderly woman, Sunita Sukra disclosed that the boat that brought her mother into Guyana is operated by a cousin from Suriname. This person allegedly admitted that he mistook a sandbank for the shore. It is alleged that he dropped the persons off on the sandbank instead of the shore.

According to Sukra, her mother left in December to go visit her grandchildren in Suriname. “She reached safe and then she wanted to come back and we keep telling my sister don’t send her over in the night because she is not seeing well and she is big, I don’t know they decided to put her in a boat with two other persons and say them bringing them over, we didn’t even get a call that they were bringing her”

Sukra related that she only learnt that her mother arrived in Guyana was when she was dropped off and a relative from Suriname called and ask if she arrived safely. When she responded in the negative, she was told to go in search for the woman but by that time she could not be found.

The boat captain was then questioned about where he dropped off the passengers and he disclosed that it was on a sandbank and he didn’t realize it was a long distance from the seashore. He informed the family that he returned and made checks for the passengers but they could not be found.

The Coast Guard from New Amsterdam and members of the Guyana Police Force are currently combing the seashore for the remaining body.