Another Essequibo boat crash victim critical

Sep 29, 2019 News

Another man has been identified as one of the injured passengers involved in the deadly boat collision, which occurred in the Essequibo River, last Monday.

Deon Charles

Deon Charles, 49, a father of two from Two Friends Village, East Coast Demerara, is nursing wounds at the Intensive Care Unit,(ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC). He was identified by his relatives at GPHC on Friday.
Monica Charles told Kaieteur News that she hadn’t heard from her brother since Monday. She said that she became aware of his condition after pictures of an ‘unidentified’ injured man surfaced on social media.
She later learned her brother was involved in a boat crash.
“He is my big brother so when I didn’t hear from him, I get worried and then I see the pictures on Facebook. I call the others (family members) and we rush down to Georgetown Hospital.”
Charles said her brother’s condition is listed as critical yet stable. According to the woman, Charles sustained a serious laceration to his head.
“He was shaking yesterday but it stopped. Only the doctors could tell you what to expect; we only praying for the best.”
Other relatives who visited the ICU expressed their shock to learn of Charles’ state.
“We didn’t know anything; we only hear that he get cut up bad but we didn’t know it was so bad.”
They told Kaieteur News that Charles worked in the interior. He was headed to Aranka backdam when he met the accident.
“He like the bush. He does work at Aranka. He had to pass through Buck Hall to go to Aranka,” the man’s relatives said.
Last Monday’s boat collision left three persons dead and several others nursing injuries.
The dead were identified as Suriname–based Guyanese businesswoman Sherry Khan, a mother of four; Jose Francisco Joaquin, a male Brazilian; and Osafo Anthony Roberts, 25, an auto electrician of Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo.
According to reports, two boats collided at Chalmers’ crossing located at the western tip of Hog Island, in the Essequibo River.
The passengers were aboard an M&Y Express vessel headed in the direction of Buck Hall when it collided with a Venezuela-registered fibreglass boat which was proceeding in the opposite direction.
Reports indicate the Venezuelan vessel was under repairs and on a test run when it smashed into the passenger vessel.
Police and maritime sources later confirmed that the captains of both vessels were navigating the dark waters without the use of proper lights; they were using the lights from their cellphones.
The boat captains were identified as Devindra Singh called Crank, 43, of Greenwich Park, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) and Latchman Sankar.
Kaieteur News understands that the men will be cited for a number of maritime breaches are likely to face charges.
Maritime and police officials have since confirmed too that Sankar, the captain of the Venezuela-registered vessel was unlicensed at the time of the incident.
On the other hand, Singh, who operated the M&Y passenger vessel, was licensed, but was operating outside of the prescribed timeframe, which is from sunrise to sunset.

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