Pirates order fishermen to jump into sea

AN ICACOS fisherman and father of one, drowned in the sea off the Venezuelan coast, when he and two other fishermen were hijacked by pirates and ordered at gunpoint to jump into the sea on Saturday morning. Yesterday, grieving relatives of 55-year-old fisherman Rupert Bissoon gathered at the Icacos coastline anxiously awaiting news as boatloads of fishermen accompanied by a Coast Guard cutter carried out searches on the rough seas for his body. Bissoon, who could not swim, was being hailed as a hero after he gave up his life-jacket to the other fishermen, in order to save their lives. Police sources told Newsday that of the three pirates, two spoke Spanish while a third spoke English and is believed to be a Trinidadian working in collusion with his Spanish-speaking counterparts.

Bissoon’s two colleagues — 17-year-old Deodath Bissoon (who is his relative) and fisherman Denver Beharry, 28, clung onto his (Bissoon’s) lifejacket until they were rescued seven hours later by fisherman Premchan Harricharan. The two were treated and discharged from the San Fernando General Hospital. Recalling the terrifying incident yesterday, a visibly shaken Beharry said they were catching shrimp one mile off the Venezuelan mainland around 10 am on Saturday, when a local trawler approached them. Beharry said it was only when the fishing vessel came closer, that they saw a masked gunman and two “Spanish-looking” men in the trawler. “The masked man pointed guns at us and told us to jump. Rupert began crying because he could not swim,” Beharry said. However they were forced to jump into the sea or face being shot. When the three jumped, Beharry said the men threw a gas pan and lifejacket in the water and sped off with their pirogue “Sandra,” with their (the pirates’) vessel following behind.

Deodath, a pupil of Cedros Composite, said, “he (Bissoon) was panicking...he gave me the jacket because I could only swim a little bit.” “He (Bissoon) was crying out for help and calling for us to help him. But I could not help him. I was trying to save myself. He went underwater and resurfaced and that was the last time we saw him,” Beharry cried. “We believe he has drowned,” he added. Although Beharry kept encouraging Deodath not to give up, he did not believe they would survive. “I just kept praying for us to be rescued,” he added. Around 5 pm his prayers were answered when Harricharan found them floating, clinging onto the life-jacket. Bissoon’s distraught wife, Sirdaye, 52, and his daughter, Amy, ten, were yesterday praying for a  miracle that he was still alive. “I never imagined anything like this would happen to him. I am grieving. I don’t know if I will ever see my husband again,” Sirdaye cried.

She said Bissoon had been a fisherman for over 12 years and worked his brother’s (Francis Bissoon) pirogue. The incident has since triggered outrage and fear among Icacos fishermen, who are now  contemplating their future in the fishing industry.  Like Beharry, who pointed out that more than likely he would not be returning to sea, the fishermen said they were fed up with the piracy and were considering other means of employment. Harricharan called on the relevant authorities to provide the Coast Guard with additional vessels  to ensure more frequent patrols at sea.