Two pleasure boats collided off Chaguaramas Sunday evening, and one sank. Five remain missing, the Coast Guard says.
Five people remain missing after two pleasure boats collided off Chaguaramas on Sunday evening, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) is continuing search and rescue operations. The collision happened shortly after 6 p.m. in waters near the Coast Guard base at Staubles Bay, according to the TTCG. Passengers were thrown overboard, and one of the vessels sank.
Police said the BAMBALEO was carrying 18 people and the BELBAGAI had 19 aboard. All 18 people on the BAMBALEO were reported safe. Nine from the BELBAGAI were brought ashore, and the five missing were on that vessel. Some of those rescued suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the St James Medical Complex. The BAMBALEO and other vessels ferried injured passengers to the Coast Guard base.
Police named the missing as Ameer Mohammed, Keeana Seechan, Lorenzo Oliver, Anil Ahaye and a person identified only as Titus. The Express reported they include teenagers. Coast Guard divers, the police Coastal Support Unit and Air Support Unit and the Hunters Search and Rescue Team are searching the surrounding waters. The cause of the collision is under investigation, and authorities have not announced the outcome of the search.
This report draws on the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, the Trinidad Express, TTT News, CMC and the Associated Press.