Survivor Leslie Austin known as ‘Heads’, who worked periodically with Roy Ramdass as a sailor and had been on the job for the past two months, told Stabroek News that the water had been extremely rough.
After he made it safely to shore, he was treated at the Skeldon Hospital for the burns he sustained about his body from the gasoline that was spilt in the water.
When Austin was complimented for his bravery in swimming safely to shore he responded: “Thank you very much but I do not think I did enough, because I was not able to save the others. They asked me to get help for them, but I did not get to do it…”
He said they would normally see the “pins” from the fishing seines floating in the water but on Friday the pins were not visible and a seine became snagged in the boat’s propeller.
“When it [the seine] hook, the boat give a pull down and started to take in water and I decided to jump out of the boat and try to loose it,” he said. A knife was in a tools’ bucket but he “could not reach it fast enough; the seine just pulled down the boat…”
He said he grabbed his lifejacket and put it on while he was in the water and gave Ramdass a gasoline jar to hold onto. But the jar was uncovered and gasoline started to spill out.
Austin said he then grabbed Indranie Motiram, another woman and Henry Gonsalves and tried to get them to hold onto the bow of the boat. He said everyone was panicking and screaming, while he tried to keep his calm. But one woman, “was shouting and screaming and she was confusing me…”
Austin said a boat was passing and they tried to hail it but the noise from the engine made it impossible for the occupants to hear. He said that at that point, Henry Gonsalves begged him to swim to shore to bring back help for them.
He said he started to leave, but turned back as he was not sure what would happen to them if he left them there alone, but when they continued to scream, he decided to be brave and struck out for shore.
The man averaged that he swam for about two and a half miles, passing three channels and sand banks, praying all the way. According to him, when he hit the first sand bank he felt he had reached the shore and started to walk, but suddenly found himself deep in water again.
Exhausted, and panting for breath, Austin said, he even crawled in the muddy areas close to the sand banks. At one stage, he saw a boat flashing its light (apparently from the search team) and he called out but there was no response.
When he finally reached shore, it was at Number 63 Beach. Austin said he was so overjoyed, he somehow found the energy to run. Along his way to the public road, he met two persons and asked them to help him make a phone call but they responded that they had forgotten their phones.
They told him to go to the mandir nearby for assistance but he ran past the mandir until he reached the public road. Unable to go any further, he threw himself down in front of a resident’s home and lay there groaning for help.
The owner heard the dogs barking and went out to check and found Austin. Once he learnt what had happened, he contacted the boat owners.
The owner of a car, who was summoned to take Austin to Corriverton, told this newspaper that he took the man to the landing first where they contacted the police and the coast guard. After that, he was taken to the hospital.
The coast guard also contacted the Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad, but it was unable to go out in the water because it “didn’t have sea-worthy vessel.”
Firstly my condolence to the family that lost love ones, i live in the same area and know almost all of the people that died as well as the survivor.
My point is that we have a coast guard at # 63 village and also have one at New Amsterdam and no help was given up to Sunday morning. We also have a helicopter fitted with light to search in the night. The coast guard dont have gasoline for the boat and was asking for mix gas up to Saturday.
This is so sad. Why did they not wear the life jackets that were apparently in the boat?
Well done, good job Leslie, you deserve the bravery medal,
if there is one in Guyana for a person like you my brother.
“Boat bruk down, govament get blame; wata pump bruk, govament get blame; drainage pump bruk, govament get blame”.
A lot of times these things do not function all because of the quality and education of the workforce. Most of them lack the idea of proper maintenance. If an oil change is required after 15,000 km, then please….do not wait for 6 months or 30,000 km to change the oil. Do not use cheap recycled oil. Do not open throttle while not in motion. Do not shut engine off for 6 hours and sell the fuel off. Do not go to the rum shop, or go to sleep on the job. Do not submit invoices for work done or parts replaced, when nothing done. The brain drain is evident in every aspect of Guyanese society. Probably, this is what the Government should be blamed for.
Red Lion
Who have these incompetent people in position? Its the govt so they should get the blame
Just wondering. If bass dosent have a sea-worthy vessel HOW are they supposed to stop smuggling????
what a time not to have a sea worthy vessel come on guyana you need to look after these things.
We have read of many accidents and tragedies where people have been killed and people have come out of those alive, and it leaves me to wonder, what is the real purpose of life under the sun? What really is it that we are here to do? these same people who seemingly escapes death at one time in their lives still had to or have to die at some point in time, it is plain to me that they have not escaped death at all, they were only allowed to live a little bit more like Mr. Austin. And as he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hands: and it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
they r people with qualification for the job but they dont have the lines and friends 2 help them get the job
I must congratulate the survivor and encourage him to give his life to God if u have not and use this as a testamony 3 win souls for Christ.
My simpathy 2 the families that lost loved ones.
Does anything ever work in Guyana? It does not matter how expensive the donation was. In the seventies i was working on the glass factory at timehri and was on my way to work by bus [Tata] which was donated by the Indian Govt. where the enjine just seized, because it was not properly maintained. Prior to becoming a bus driver afterwards, we had two weeks of training in maintaining these busses but it all went down the gutter. No one cares. Hats off to you Leslie, Good job. You have done all you could. Thank you.
M. Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett you sound like you have a beef with God. He’s all mighty, all powerful, and knows everything. Don’t question him. I will pray for you.
God has been good to me. Very good.
I just wonder why he can’t be so good to others too, who more deserving.
I will pray for him too