Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Three feared drowned at Linden
Reaction to the news of the dro
Pandemonium broke out at the Watooka Complex last evening after a boat capsized during a river excursion that was part of the club’s annual Diwali Fun Day activities.
The 14-seater boat was reportedly carrying a full complement of passengers, including children and adults, but unfortunately did not have the required number of life jackets. Three persons are believed to have drowned as a result. They are 20-year-old Kishana Hollingsworth, of 387 One Mile Wismar, 12-year-old Tracy Duggan of Block 22 Wismar, and seven-year-old Quacy Miggins a student of Regma Primary School, who hails from Old Kara Kara Linden.
According to reports the boat capsized just before it landed after the captain, Oscar Giles, did a 360-degree turn.
At least two persons jumped into the Demerara River and helped to rescue most of the passengers. But there was no sign of the missing three.
An aunt of Tracy Duggan was inconsolable, and kept lapsing into bouts of unconsciousness between her intermittent screaming and wailing.
“A want me neice,” she wailed over and over again, while she ran towards the river edge and threatened to jump in. The child’s mother tried desperately to control her, but her efforts were futile. Friends and relatives also tried vainly to do the same.
Tracy Duggan and Kishana Hollinsworth are cousins, according to reports. The family lost another family member at the very Watooka complex almost a year ago. However on that occasion the drowning occurred in the swimming pool.
Most family members were too distraught to speak.
Quacy Miggins’s mother, Pearl St John, had to be admitted to the Linden Hospital complex, after her blood pressure reportedly escalated.
All attempts to retrieve those believed to have drowned had to be aborted soon after nightfall.
The boat captain Giles is in police custody assisting with investigations, according to reports.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A call for more cultural centres
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- Burnham’s decision to divert the Indian Immigration Fund towards constructing the National... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
