Son dies, father missing in North West boat accident

The search for 42-year-old George Piper, who, with his 18-year-old son Ravin Piper, was tossed out of the boat in which he was travelling after a Public Health Ministry vessel collided with their boat at the mouth of the Moruca River in the North West District of Region One (Barima/Waini) at about 22:00hrs on Friday last, has been intensified after the body of 18-year-old Ravin was recovered at the confluence of the Moruca and Pomeroon Rivers early on Sunday morning.

Police say Ravin Piper’s body was found by Coast Guard ranks at about 08:00h on Sunday morning.
The duo became involved in the mishap
as they were returning home from a trip to Charity, which they had made in a 17-foot vessel captained by its owner, Uklana France of Father’s Beach, North West District, Region One. France survived the mishap.
Police detailed on Sunday that the accident occurred when a vessel owned by the Kumaka District Hospital allegedly collided with France’s boat, and the resulting impact hurled overboard the captain of the Government vessel and four of its occupants, but they were rescued.
George Piper’s sister, Paula Evans, told Guyana Times on Sunday that she was informed that the authorities, with assistance from residents, have increased their efforts to locate her brother, dead or alive.
“My nephew went to Charity to do some shopping, and my brother was in the Pomeroon by our land, so when my nephew was finished, he went in and collected by brother late in the night for them to go home. So my brother, his son and his friend ‘Wood’ (France) were in the boat when the incident happened,” she related.
She said she was informed that France’s boat was equipped with lights suitable for night travel, and that the Police at Moruca have France in custody while the captain of the Government vessel has been allowed to leave. This, she said is a cause for concern, since the Kumaka District Hospital vessel was the one that had collided with France’s boat, which was heading in the opposite direction.
The missing George Piper, father of seven additional children, youngest of whom is allegedly five years old, is feared dead.