Five drown on gloomy Saturday

IN matter of minutes, two villages on the East-West corridor moved from a mood of happiness to one of gloom, as they mourned the deaths of their five sons by drowning. At around 2 pm on Saturday, six men of East Dry River, Laventille, entered those choppy, rough waters at San Souci Bay in Toco. Twenty minutes later, two were pulled out alive. Just one hour before the Toco tragedy, Akiel Guy, 18, of La Horquetta, died at the St James Community Hospital after he was pulled out of the water at Monos Island.

The victims at Toco —  Dave Carter, 34, Michael Douglas, 19 of Laventille Road, Mervyn Khan, 26, of Turnback Alley and Bernard Lawrence, 13, of Basilon and Belgrade Street in Laventille, a Form One student of the Morvant/Laventille Secondary School all drowned at San Souci Bay when they were pulled out to sea by strong waves and heavy under currents. Joel George, 19, of Turnback Alley and Richard Vangine, 16, of Laventille Road were the survivors, pulled out of the water by nearby surfers. According to reports, the members of the party were all bathing at the nearby San Souci River when the six men decided to go for a swim in the bay. According to survivor Richard Vangine,” we were bathing at the river when my stepfather Dave, my cousins Michael, Bernard, Joel, my brother-in-law Mervyn and myself decided to go for a swim in the sea. When we entered the water, it was about five inches high so we walked in several yards.

“Within ten minutes the water level moved from my ankles to my neck. I began to paddle and called out for help. Although I did not realise how dangerous the situation was, I realised the tide was rising. No one heard my cries.” Next, a wave came and hit Dave and Mervyn who were in front of me. I looked around in time to see another wave hit Joel and Bernard who were behind me and who could not swim. That is all I knew until I was pulled from the water by a surfer and found Joel on the beach who was also saved by a surfer.” Even more dazed and trembling were Anthony Ali and Lynette Charles, the stepfather and mother of Bernard, who blames herself for her son’s death. Bernard was an only child. “If I had decided not to go, he would be alive today. One minute Bernard was flying his kite, which got tangled up with some corbeaux flying nearby, next I heard screaming. Then I learnt my son was victim. I did not know he had gone into the water.

A still sobbing, dazed, disoriented Jennifer Douglas, mother of Michael Douglas, who watched as her son went under and disappeared, could not come to terms with his death, explaining, “we were collecting Chip Chip by the river when he came and said he was going to the sea. I told him not to go but he still went. Next I heard shouting and screaming and I ran to the sight only to see my eldest son being pulled away, out of sight. “If he had listened he would be alive today,” cried the mother of three.” An angry friend of the Michael Douglas family and another neighbour, however, blamed the TT Lifeguard Association for the deaths.” There were no flags or warning signs posted anywhere. Not even a Coast Guard vessel. This was our first time here. We are from town. How are we to know that these waters are dangerous and we should not bathe here?” asked the angry people.

Police sources agreed that there are normally danger signs and flags posted in the waters around Toco. However, they told Newsday, “this is Toco and anyone coming here to bathe should know the dangers of bathing here whether you are from town or anywhere else. Cpl Joshua is investigating. At press time, only Khan’s body had been recovered. Khan is the nephew of Matelot/Fishing Pond People’s National Movement councillor Terry Rondon. One hour before the San Souci drownings, Akiel Guy, 18, a student of Firecracker Avenue in La Horquetta went with friends to Monos Island (off Chagville) where the non-swimmer jumped off of the pier into the choppy, rough waters. After some minutes when he did not resurface, his friends dove to the bottom and pulled out the almost lifeless teen. He was rushed to the Community Hospital at St James By boat and car where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Constable Gibbons is investigating. Twelve people died unnaturally over the weekend. Four bandits, three in the East and one in South, by police bullets; three men in drug-related killings along the East-West corridor, and five by drowning.  

Councillor in tears over drowned nephew

BY RALPH BANWARIE

Sangre Grande Regional Corporation vice chairman and councillor for Toco/ Fishing Pond Terry Rondon burst into tears when he heard of the drowning of his nephew, Mervyn Khan, at San Souci. Rondon was at the time attending a People’s National Movement (PNM) constituency meeting at the Guaico Government Primary School. He said provisions had been made for villagers to be employed as lifeguards at the beaches on the North Coast by former chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Gabriel Henderson, when the United National Congress (UNC) was in control of the council. As a councillor in the area for the last seven years, he said he is aware of the danger sea bathers could experience if they are not careful at certain areas of the North Coast. He said he had signs posted at the dangerous beaches on the North Coast and this had saved the lives of many who were unfamiliar with the dangerous currents.  

Rondon said he had raised the issue of safety for sea bathers at several statutory meetings to the chairman of SGRC, Ronald Boynes, to have temporary lifeguards posted at some of the popular beaches on the North Coast. One of the most popular — and most dangerous — is Big Bay at San Souci, where most visitors would stop to lime and have a sea bath. He said there are many youths in the area who can perform the duties of lifeguards and, he said, had recommended this to the Corporation many times, but all his request had fallen on deaf ears. He even suggested that the Corporation employ the lifeguards under the URP programme, but to no avail. He is very saddened to know that his nephew was one of the victims who lost his life by drowning at San Souci.