Last two bodies retrieved

Nov 08, 2010 News

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Watooka boat mishap…

The bodies of 12-year-old Mackenzie High School student Melinda Duggan, and her 20-year-old cousin Kishana Hollingsworth, were recovered approximately four hours apart yesterday, as a community still is trying to come to grips with the river tragedy which claimed three lives.
Melinda Duggan’s body was found around 06:00hrs yesterday, in the vicinity of the Lodge Hall at Watooka, while Kishana Hollingsworth’s remains were retrieved downstream at Goldhill, at around 10:10 hrs.
The body of six-year-old Quacy Miggins was recovered on Saturday, shortly after 13:00hrs, in the vicinity of the bauxite plant wharf and the Mackenzie/ Wismar Bridge.

The three youths perished after a boat, with more than a dozen persons aboard, capsized during a Family Fun Day, held at the Watooka Complex in Linden.
It was the sad culmination to what had begun as a perfect day for many families and friends. However it could have been much worse, as many of the persons onboard the ill-fated boat could not swim, according to reports.
But thanks to the efforts of a few brave individuals, most of them were saved from a watery demise.
Among those who risked their lives to save others was Junior Bharrat. When contacted yesterday after reports were received of his bravery in initiating the rescue, Bharrat related how he took of his shoes and shirt, and jumped into the river to help rescue those who had been flung into the river after the boat made a rash turn on approaching the landing at the Watooka Complex.
“I was standing on the landing of the Watooka Club at approximately 17:30 hrs waiting for the boat to come in back, so I could take a ride, when I saw it capsize about thirty yards from where I was. I immediately took off my shoes and shirt and handed my cell phone and money to a friend; I dived into the river and started swimming towards the boat and shouted for someone to throw life jackets and a young man swam out with four life jackets and gave two to me.” Bharrat related that he then shouted to two males who were on a Jet Ski to take those persons who were encountering difficulties to land.
Meanwhile, the man said he continued to swim towards the overturned boat, where he had observed two persons, but when he finally got there, only one woman was holding on to the boat. He said he handed her a life jacket, meanwhile encouraging her to ‘hold’ on. By that time, the boat had drifted some distance from where it had overturned, and after about three minutes a paddle boat came alongside, according to Bharrat. He added that he advised the woman to hold on to the side of that boat.

Bharrat said that the woman kept crying all the time ‘what is my boyfriend gonna say? He told me not to come here.’ “I told her not to worry about that, ‘let’s just focus on getting ashore. He pointed out that a few minutes later the jet ski returned and she was placed on it. However, she fell off and eventually had to be rescued by a woman in the paddle boat.
Lindy Mendonza (the woman in the paddle boat) said she was washing wares (dishes) on the other side of the river, at West Watooka, when she saw the big ‘commotion’, and noticed that there were people in the water.
“Right away I call me daughter and I grab a paddle and start to paddle across the river. This time I praying all the time – Father, let we reach in time to at least save somebody; this time the boat  like it feeling so heavy, like it ain’t even moving, and I sweating all the time and the sweat running in me eyes, but I still didn’t giving up,” Mendonza said.
The woman claimed that after what seemed like an eternity they finally reached one of the survivors holding onto the overturned boat, some distance from where it had capsized. She said that she tried to get the woman into her boat but the woman was too heavy. “After awhile we had to give up or our boat would have been overturned.”
Mendonza said that they then told the woman to hold onto her boat while they paddled to the shore.
That was a daunting task she pointed out as the boat was already heavy and combined with the weight of the woman, and the current which was pulling in the opposite direction they continued at a snail’s pace, but eventually reached the Watooka Complex landing.
The woman was high in praise for Junior Bharrat, who she said held the woman all the while, speaking words of encouragement to her. ‘’But I could never forget the look of fear in her eyes, it was like she was staring yet not seeing, I don’t even think that she would recognize me if she saw me tomorrow, she was too petrified with fear.”

Other persons who assisted with the rescue, were Julian St. John (Quacy Miggins’ uncle) Mark Louis, the jet ski operator, the captain of the boat Oscar Giles (who is still in Police custody), Rawle Blair – who was reportedly in the boat when it capsized – and another person from the Christianburg area whose name was given as Sullivan. However it could not be confirmed whether Blair was indeed in the boat at the time of the tragedy.
The Demerara River has seen its fair share of tragedies over the years, but the latest involving more than one person, and close relatives, was one in which two brothers had gotten away from their Silvertown home and subsequently headed for the river where one of them went into the water and encountered difficulties. From all indications his brother had gone out to help him, but both of them drowned as neither could swim. According to reports back then, the two had been observed frolicking with friends by the riverside before the tragedy.

Another incident occurred more than two decades ago, in the vicinity of the Katabulli Bridge in Christianburg, when two cousins, the only sons of two sisters, Evelyn and Sheila Allicock, ventured into the Demerara River on their own.
Neither of the two could swim, and both perished. When they were found, they were reportedly hugging each other.

(Enid Joaquin)

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