Coast Guard rescues fisherman drifting at sea for over 19 hours
…6 others rescued
The fisherman who drifted from hours being rescued by the Coast Guards
Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard ranks on Boxing Day saved several fishermen, including one who was drifting at sea for more than 19 hours.
According to the ranks, they were conducting a search-and-rescue operation around 11:30h on Monday in response to a distress signal detected by the Timehri control tower, off the Essequibo Coast.
The response vessel and team were immediately deployed to the location and six crew members of the vessel Lady Shaneeza were pulled to safety from a life raft.
They said their vessel encountered extremely bad weather and sank. They also informed of another missing crew member who drifted off, wearing his life jacket. An aerial search by Roraima Airways was also launched to complement the effort.
In a Facebook post from National Security Advisor and Roraima Airways owner, Captain Gerry Gouveia, he said that the airways joined the search from the air in support of the vessels on the water.
He said the weather was severe, but together the Coast Guard vessels and the Roraima planes combed the ocean.
Hours after, the additional crew member, 57-year-old Christopher Williams, who had been drifting for more than 19 hours, was rescued about four nautical miles off the mouth of the Pomeroon River.
Williams was transported by ambulance to the Charity Hospital for medical treatment. It was reported that at the time of the accident, the vessel was on its way back from Trinidad after departing Guyana earlier this month. (G9)
