Guyana Coast Guard vessel that was part of the search.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana--After searching for some three days to no avail for a boat with dead bodies that was on Monday spotted offshore Guyana, authorities are now depending on assistance from international partners to help locate the mystery vessel in waters beyond the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The boat was first spotted on Monday afternoon. It is suspected that there were about five to 10 decomposed bodies on board. Efforts to bring the boat to shore on Monday were futile.
On Tuesday, local authorities deployed several teams in search of the boat, but it was not found. In fact, on Tuesday afternoon, a vessel with a Coast Guard team ventured into the deep sea in search of the boat. That vessel returned to shore Thursday morning with no sighting of the mystery vessel.
This is according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, who told this publication that Guyana has now alerted its international partners and encouraged them to be on the lookout.
“The search has not ended … we have searched our waters thoroughly but we are now collaborating with our international partners to search waters outside of our EEZ,” Minister Edghill explained.
The Maritime Administration Department MARAD, in a statement on Wednesday night, explained that it has published a “Navigational Warning” via the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, informing all vessels in the general area to be on the lookout for a boat adrift, and to report any sighting.
MARAD said it has also sent emails to several “equivalent organisations” seeking their assistance in identifying the boat and the remains of those on board.
MARAD has also informed the Administration in Trinidad and Tobago to notify vessels about the boat, as the surrounding ocean current can possibly take it to that country.
“Anybody who spots anything, there is a mechanism of which they will report, and there is no such report,” Edghill added.
Authorities, during an emergency press conference on Tuesday, had indicated that there was a possibility that the vessel might have become submerged due to the bad weather at sea on Monday. ~ iNews Guyana ~
