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Body of policeman retrieved from Puruni River
Kaieteur News- The body of Lance Corporal Jermaine Batson, who went missing after he jumped from a sinking boat in the Puruni River, Region Seven, has been found.
Dead: Lance Corporal Jermaine Batson
Police in a statement said that the incident occurred on the Puruni River, a tributary of the Mazaruni River. According to the police the incident also involved Constable 24612 Quincy Marks and Ransdale Melville, a 30-year-old boat captain from Third Avenue, Bartica. Preliminary investigations indicate that the three individuals departed from Puruni Landing at approximately 09:00hrs Tuesday in a wooden boat measuring twelve feet in length and three feet in width, powered by a 40-horsepower Yamaha engine.
The boat was on patrol along the Puruni River. Constable Marks was seated in the middle of the boat, unarmed but fully dressed in uniform while L/Cpl Batson, also in the middle, was armed with one Taurus pistol containing 15 matching rounds and similarly dressed in uniform. Ransdale Melville was positioned at the rear of the boat, operating the engine.
Police said that about 11:45hrs, while navigating upstream through a ‘fall’, the boat’s engine cut off, causing water to enter the vessel and leading to a partial sinking.
As the boat began to sink, L/Cpl Batson jumped into the river. The boat subsequently drifted downstream, prompting Constable Marks and Melville to jump onto a nearby rock to prevent the boat from being carried away by the current. They managed to secure the boat by tying it to a branch.
According to the police, at this point, Constable Marks observed Batson holding onto a branch on the opposite side of the river and engaged in a brief conversation with him. Batson, the police said, confirmed at the time that he was unharmed and enquired about the status of Constable Marks and Melville, to which Constable Marks responded affirmatively. However, while Constable Marks and the boat operator were emptying water out of the boat to restart the engine, they noticed that Batson was no longer visible. According to police after conducting a brief search and failing to locate him, Marks and Melville proceeded to restart the boat and continued their search efforts. When these efforts proved unsuccessful, they walked to a nearby camp to access Wi-Fi and reported the incident.
Following the report, they returned to the river to resume search operations. Upon receiving the report, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chaitram, Detective Sergeant (D/Sgt) Jonas, and Constable Watts were dispatched to investigate the incident. Further updates on the investigation will be provided, the police released stated.
(Body of policeman retrieved from Puruni River)
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