…collided into boat owned by him and captained by his cousins
Dead: Rashleigh Gladstone
A collision of two vessels in the Berbice River on Friday evening has resulted in the death of 47-year-old Rashleigh Gladstone, called “Ratty Boi”.
Reports are that the vessel being captained by Gladstone, a carpenter in the Berbice riverine village of Friendship, collided with a vessel being captained by two of his cousins, who are licensed boat captains, on Friday at approximately 19:00h.
This newspaper was told that Gladstone had just dropped off some of his workers, and was on his way home when the collision occurred. According to reports, family members of Gladstone had expressed concern that he had not returned from work, as it was way beyond his expected arrival time. This resulted in his two cousins: brothers respectively 25 and 27 years old, going in search of him.
The two men left home in a boat owned by Rashleigh Gladstone and powered by a 140hp engine. It was into this boat that Gladstone, who was in a boat being powered by a 25hp engine, collided. That collision resulted in Gladstone being thrown into the Berbice River; and whereas the captain of the vessel into which Gladstone had collided escaped with minor injuries, Gladstone could not be located on Friday evening, despite the efforts of a search party that included the two brothers. His body was found floating in the Kimbia area at around 09:00h on Saturday.
Speaking with Guyana Times on Saturday, a relative said, “The family is not good, but we’re trying. He was a very friendly and jovial person, and would go out of his way to do anything for anyone.”
Police have since questioned the brothers.
