Pensioner dies in Essequibo River boat collision

Richard Bowen, an 87-year-old pensioner of Karrau Village, Essequibo River, died after his small wooden boat, powered by a 15hp engine, collided with a passenger boat in the Essequibo River near Bartica.
Reports coming out of Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) state that the incident occurred on Monday at about 10:45h.
Investigations revealed that the passenger boat was captained by a 50-year-old man of Parika East Bank Essequibo (EBE). He told Police that at about 09:45h, he departed Parika Stelling in his boat with 23 passengers enroute to Bartica. whilst nearing Bartica, he saw Bowen’s boat about 700 metres in front of him, also heading towards Bartica.
He claimed that as he reached closer to Bowen’s boat, Bowen suddenly changed course, and collided with his boat, the impact of that collision causing Bowen’s engine to fall off the stern and into the water.
A boat that was nearby at the time rendered assistance and took the injured pensioner to the Bartica Hospital, where he succumbed whilst receiving medical attention.
His body is awaiting a post mortem examination, and Maritime Administration (MARAD) has been informed of the incident. The captain of the passenger boat has since been taken into custody.
Only two days ago, Police launched an investigation after a boat captain and a 38-year-old businesswoman had gone missing after the boat in which they were travelling capsized in the Takutu River, Lethem, Central Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Missing are Walletta Rigby, a businesswoman of Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden and an unknown Brazilian man who was the captain of the boat.
Reports are that Rigby and her friend Shaunette Gonsalves, 48, a housewife of Beverly Hills, Lethem, Central Rupununi, had crossed the Takutu Bridge and went to Bonfim in Brazil to purchase some items.
The women had reportedly boarded a small wooden boat captained by the Brazilian national on Brazil’s shore. Whilst they were crossing the said river, the boat capsized as a result of the weight and strong current of the river, and they reportedly went under water.
Gonsalves, however, managed to grab on to a branch of a tree, and as she looked up for the others, they were nowhere in sight. She was rescued, and reported what had transpired to ranks at the Lethem Police Station.
A search was conducted on Saturday for the missing persons, but there were no signs of them. Up to Tuesday, the missing persons were still missing. (G9)