Neither of the boats involved in the deadly 2013 Mazaruni River crash was licensed at the time of the tragedy which claimed the lives of 10.
This is according to Director General of the Maritime Administration Department, Stephen Thomas, who testified at the on-going trial of Cabesh Persaud and Devon Thomas—the two captains of the ill-fated vessels.
The jointly-charged duo is on trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a jury at the High Court in Suddie, Essequibo where they have been indicted on charges of manslaughter.
The allegation against Persaud called “Dube” and Thomas called “Beast” is that on January 22nd, 2013 in the Mazaruni River, Essequibo, they dangerously steered their boats and unlawfully killed Ricky Bobb, Keanu Amsterdam, Deon Moses, Kevon Ambrose, Christopher Ramnarine, Zahir Baksh, Jewan Seeram, Ulrick Grimes, Jermaine Calistro and Brazilian national Francisco Olivera Alves.
In his testimony, the Director General said that investigations following the collision revealed that Thomas had been granted a captain’s certificate to operate the boat he piloted, while Persaud had no such certification. The witness went on to note, however, that neither vessel had any certification and they were therefore being operated in breach of marine safety regulations.
Also testifying was Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh who said that seven of the men died of multiple injuries and fractures sustained to their bodies which could have been consistent with a boat collision. Ramnarine he said, was the only person who died as a result of drowning.
Meanwhile, Bobb he said, died from a fractured spine, compounded by blunt trauma to the neck and back.
Alves, however, died from a fractured spine the pathologist said.
A passenger of one of the boats had previously testified that the vessel he was in had been travelling extremely fast and as the captain negotiated the blind turn where the collision occurred at Crab Falls, he had not decreased the speed at which he was piloting the boat all along.
That witness was Brian Archer who was a passenger of Persaud’s boat which was travelling to Puruni Landing on that fateful day. Detective Sergeant Kenneth Felix—one of the investigating officers—had told the court that Persaud had related to him that he was steering the boat which was outfitted with two 200 horsepower Yamaha engines, at 60 miles per hour.
This pace, the detective had said would have been too fast to navigate the particular area at which the collision occurred.
The collision is said to have occurred at about 12:30 on the night in question at Crab Falls; between the `Dube’ and `Mattrani’, in the Mazaruni River.
The `Dube’ which was heading to Puruni was helmed by Persaud, while the `Mattrani’ which was destined for Parika was steered by Thomas.
In her address to the jury at the commencement of the trial, Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken said that those who perished were all passengers of the `Mattrani’.
Police investigators have said that neither accused believe that they should be held liable for the lives lost as they are both contending that it was an accident.
A “mishap,” is how police say Persaud and Thomas have described the tragedy. The trial continues this morning.
Attorney Dexter Todd is representing Persaud while Thomas is being represented by defence attorney Roger Yearwood.
