The missing man is Delbert George while the four other crew members of the Captain Lloyd 97 vessel, were rescued by another fishing vessel, but were later transferred to another vessel owned by Pritipaul Singh Investment, this newspaper was told.
Mr Gibbs, a senior official at Pritipaul Singh Investment overseeing the rescue operations last evening, said he was not in a position to name the rescued crew. He told Stabroek News, however, that the crew had left the country on Thursday. According to him, after hearing about the explosion a team of officials from his company along with the coast guard went on a fly-over to assess the conditions. However, the team did not have the option of transporting the men by air at that time, since the fly-over was undertaken in an aeroplane, Gibbs explained.
A source within the Guyana Coast Guard told this newspaper that the incident was first reported to them at about 10.55 am. According to the source while the initial report was that the vessel was 67 miles off, it was in fact 135 miles off the coast. The source said that when the team arrived, the burnt crew members had been rescued by another vessel.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, in a statement issued last evening said that Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud had ordered a full investigation into the alleged explosion on the vessel.
“Minister Persaud has sought the assistance of the Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to engage in search and rescue of the crew members of the ill fated vessel and also to engage the owners,” the statement said. It added that “the Ministry of Agriculture stands committed to assist with the care of the rescued crew members.”
Persaud, when contacted late last evening said that he did not have much detail about the incident and told this newspaper that he was awaiting word from the company about the arrival of the crew. According to him, his staff was monitoring the situation closely. The Minister said he was concerned about the crew and told this newspaper he was unaware of the extent of their injuries.
