Reported missing after travelling to Suriname to fish for crabs last Sunday, four Berbice men have been found alive and unharmed.
The men were stranded after their boat became stuck while they were out at sea and they were forced to catch fish and roast crabs for sustenance after they ran out of supplies for what was intended to be a three-day trip.
Ramdat Goonraj, also known as ‘Azad,’ 26, of Rose Hall Town, Nelson De Jonge, 22, of Fort Ordnance Housing Scheme and Yogeshwar Mangal, 23, of Number Two Village, East Canje Berbice, returned home around 6 am yesterday, while fellow crewman Anand Deoharry, 45, of Cumberland Village, East Canje Berbice, was due to travel home sometime between last evening and this morning.
The men phoned their relatives late on Sunday evening to inform them of their location, after which a speedboat was dispatched to bring them home. They had left their homes since December 1st.
According to Goonraj, they were stuck in a swampy area, which resulted in them being stranded. They were eventually rescued by a fishing boat with Guyanese fishermen. “We deh on the boat couple days and then we see fishing boat a pass and we start to wave them but couple na come in and then that one come in fa see wah happen with we,” he said.
Goonraj said the stranded crew was eventually rescued by a fishing boat with Guyanese fishermen. However, their misfortunes mounted as their rescuers’ boat experienced engine troubles, which resulted in Goonraj, De Jonge, Mangal and three fishermen from that boat’s crew deciding to leave the vessel for help. He said they eventually walked from an area called “Bukerberry” to Nickerie for help.
According to the father of three, after they reached Nickerie, they phoned relatives for assistance.
He said since the trek was a long and “dangerous” one, Deoharry decided to wait on the boat. “He na able walk because of his foot pain,” Goonraj explained.
Deoharry’s daughter, Sheliza Deoharry, 18, yesterday told Stabroek News that her father sent a message with his fellow crewmen to let relatives know that he was alright.
She said while they felt some relief after receiving his message, they are patiently awaiting his return. “We just want to see him and then we will feel better,” she noted.
Deoharry has been a crab fisher for the past 20 years and his relatives said that this is the first time he ever had such an experience.
Meanwhile, Mangal yesterday explained that while stuck on the boat they were forced to catch fish and roast crab to survive, since they only took three days of food supplies with them. “We had to fish and roast crab,” he said.
According to Mangal, they were worried that they may not have been rescued. “We does work on the tide, so we know how the water stay so we know how long we got to stay to get the water to come down but we did studying as we food did finish,” he said. “We did studying because is a far place we had to swim and if anything did bore we on the water top deh woulda been dangerous but we still take chance and bore through. The distance was couple well mile we walk,” he added.
The boat in which the men left Number 65 Corentyne was brought to Guyana yesterday as well. It had been found in Nickerie, Suriname, on Sunday afternoon, with the engine, two containers of gas and about 500 crabs aboard. The discovery of the boat without the crew fueled suspicions that the crew may have been harmed and led to reports being filed with authorities here and in Suriname.
Relatives of the three men told Stabroek News that they were grateful that the men returned home alive and unharmed.
