3rd body discovered 21 days after disappearing in river

Guyana-Suriname back track tragedy

More than three weeks after the Guyana-Suriname back track tragedy in the Corentyne River, the body of 48-year-old of Sharida Hussein of Lot 27 Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, was found on Friday.

The woman went missing along with two others on February 9, in the vicinity of Number 63 Beach, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), after arriving in Guyana via the illegal route from Suriname.
Police stated that at about 13:30h, a team of Police and the woman’s teenage son made the discovery at Number 48 Corentyne foreshore.
On February 11, the bodies of 31-year-old Alwin Joseph, a father of one of Suriname was found at the Number 60 foreshore while the body of 75-year-old Babuni Harihar, called, “Dorris”, was found among some mangroves at Number 69 Village.
At that time, they were still in search of Hussein, who was considered missing. An autopsy revealed that both Joseph and Harihar died of drowning.
It was reported that the trio was dropped off at a mudflat in the Atlantic under the pretext that they were on the Number 63 Beach.
The Dutch-speaking country had closed its borders as part of a series of measures put in place to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. As such, many people had been illegally crossing the Corentyne River to enter both countries using what is known as the “back track”.
The three who have all now been confirmed dead were travelling by night when there is less visibility.
After being put off on land, Joseph reportedly telephoned a brother in the USA and told him he had arrived in Guyana. However, Hussein telephoned her son telling him that she and two others were in waist-high water and the place was dark.
It was later revealed that the trio was in fact dropped off on a sandbank and then walked into the Atlantic thinking that they were getting onto the mainland.
Authorities in Suriname have since arrested the boat captain, a sailor and a taxi driver who took the now dead persons to the vessel.
Joseph, a Guyanese by birth, had been living in Suriname with his wife and children ad was returning home for business. Harihar had been returning to Guyana after visiting Suriname while Hussein was returning after a holiday.
Harihar and Hussein were in Suriname since December and were forced to extend their stay after the borders were closed.