One man is feared dead after the boat in which he was travelling capsized in the Pomeroon River just after midnight on Friday. The man has been identified as 36-year-old David De Souza of Lower Pomeroon River.
Based on reports received, De Souza and several others were in a paddle boat when a speedboat drove alongside theirs, causing it to topple.
Three of the men reportedly held on to the boat, while De Souza and another fell into the river. De Souza, reportedly in a d
runken state, never surfaced. The other man swam to shore.
A report was lodged at the Charity Police Station, and two men have been taken into custody to assist with the investigations.
Meanwhile, in another accident on the Pomeroon River on Friday evening, the Guyana Times understands that a 3-month-old baby sustained injuries and is consequently battling for his life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Suddie Public Hospital.
Details surrounding that incident are yet to be verified, but Police on the Esssequibo Coast have launched in investigation.
In the past, several persons have lost their lives as a result of boat mishaps in the Pomeroon River. A recent fatal boat mishap claimed the life of 18-year-old Ravin Piper.
The teenager and members of his family were heading home in a small boat when a collision with a larger boat occurred. The body of the young man was fished out of the river a few days later.
Two days after, 19-year-old Denroy Henry had to be hospitalised after a boat ferrying passengers to a funeral collided with a log along the waterway.
In light of these occurrences, officials from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) have intensified their education awareness programme on the safe use of the waterway.
