Two days after Guyana Defence Force’s Private, Junior Kenroy Sooklall, went missing when the boat in which he and several others were travelling capsized in the Essequibo River, his body was found on Sunday.
The discovery was made at around 07:00h after fishermen spotted the body at the estuary of the Essequibo River.
According to a statement from the GDF, the Police were notified and the body has since been positively identified as that of the young man.
Dead: Junior Kenroy Sooklall
It was reported that Sooklall was a passenger on a private vessel on Friday, December 17, when it encountered difficulties and toppled. The soldier is the only fatality from this incident.
The late Sooklall resided at Bark Lane, Hopetown Village, West Coast Berbice.
The Defence Force said the investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident, continues. The Guyana Defence Force extends its sincerest condolences to the mother and other relatives of the late soldier.
On the fateful day, a group of GDF ranks was heading to Parika from Essequibo in a privately-owned speedboat, and while in the vicinity of St Lawrence, they heard people screaming for assistance and as they looked around, they observed a boat sinking.
As the ranks quickly went in the direction of the persons, they observed four males in the water while two others were in a green and black boat a few metres away.
The ranks managed to rescue Everette Tudor, 40, a Staff Sergeant attached to the GDF and a Base Commander at Fort Island who resides at B Field Sophia, Georgetown; along with 28-year-old Ramesh Beepat, a Captain of Old Road Le Destin, East Bank Essequibo (EBE); Turendra Lochan, 28, a barber of Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo; 14-year-old Eon John, a student of Parika Primary School and of Le Destin, EBE, and 16-year-old Ryan Beepat, also a student of Le Destin, EBE.
At the time of their rescue, Tudor, Lochan and Beepat were above the legal limit of alcohol consumption.
Investigators further questioned the captain, who related that the five passengers were travelling from Fort Island when they hit a wave, thus causing the 17-foot wooden boat which was powered by a 150-hp Yamaha outboard engine to capsize.
