THE only life-saving gadgets on board the ill-fated Chrisann-V were six life rings and one life jacket with no straps. This is according to the teenage engineer of the vessel and survivor, Subash Kristen, who was on board when the tug went down in the Atlantic Wednesday night.
This was after the barge it was towing slammed into it and tore a hole in its side.
The 18-year-old made the disclosure during a press briefing held at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre’s headquarters in Stabroek, Georgetown yesterday afternoon.
In his explanation of what happened that may have caused the boat to go down eventually, the young man said that after the engine on the vessel failed, they attempted to get hold of a small pump that was on the barge.
According to him, as they attempted to rope in the barge, it came with a force, ripping through the vessel which was rotted at some parts. He explained that the impact caused the boat to take in even more water as a hole was now created. The next move was the detaching of the barge from the vessel after realising that the vessel was going down.
It was then he and his fellow survivor decided to jump overboard and they managed to get on the barge. He said that when the rest of the men decided to follow suit, it was too late, as the vessel and the barge were far apart, and the short line that was left on the barge could not reach the men on the tug.
Minister Robeson Benn, who was also present at the press conference, expressed his disappointment that hours elapsed before any word of the tragedy was related to the authorities. More so, the minister was surprised that persons would have decided to attempt a sea passage on Wednesday, given the bad weather both on land and at sea.
Minister Benn was visibily upset, and at one point was brought to tears after listening to the details leading to the incident that has now left four persons missing.
Minister Benn told the media that after being briefed about the incident, he updated President Donald Ramotar, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon just before 20:00hrs last evening.
Benn expressed disappointment at statements made by Captain Jerry Gouveia, who claimed that enough was not being done by officials.
The vessel had a crew of four, including the now missing captain, while the crew accompanying the excavator comprised five persons.