-Nine-year-old rescued other child
Shameer France, a survivor from the ill-fated MV Barima that capsized around 10:20 pm on Saturday, was among a group of relatives accompanying his brother, Percy France who was taking the body of his wife to the Pomeroon for her funeral.
The funeral was not to be, as the body ended up being flung into a watery grave while Percy and other family members are believed to have perished in the disaster. Up to Tuesday evening, only the bodies of Percy’s daughter, Lovista Bovell and her two-month-old baby boy were recovered. Bovell’s other son, said to be about three-years-old, is still to be accounted for.
This was France’s first trip along that route and he recalled that right after leaving the shores, he became worried after noticing that the boat was “so low in the water.” He then asked Percy if “this boat does go so low?” His brother responded that he travelled often “and he never see the boat so low.”
He was still scared and kept watching the movements of the boat. Along the way, he decided to go down the stairs to the canteen in the lower deck to get something to eat. “When I watched down… is water washing. There were some containers knocking all corners… I don’t know if the boat had any leakage…”
He went out to have a closer look and he met a man, apparently a worker, who said there was no leakage and that the water was washing off the boat. He went back and told Percy who said that the boat never had water washing in that way when he travelled.
He recalled too that he told Percy that “boat rocking hard…” He also inquired whether the waves would come more and his brother said “boy we now start and I tell he look how this boat deh already.”
He also noticed when the boat started leaning on one side “and that is how the waves start catch the boat. One big wave come and catch the boat… one lean and the boat never balanced back no more. One lean and it go straight down.”
He said he “ducked out from the boat” and saw some life jackets floating and he tried to catch two. At the same time, a little child tried to hold on to his neck and he helped to save her.
He then noticed a container floating and he reached for it while still holding on to the child. By then eight other persons grabbed on to the containers until they were rescued around 5 ‘o’clock the next morning.
They were first taken to the coast guards’ base in the Pomeroon before being taken to the Charity Hospital. Subsequently, they were taken to the dormitory of the Essequibo Technical Institute where they were given food and a place to rest until they were well enough to leave.
He left for the Pomeroon where he stayed the night. He returned the next day with other family members and was desperately checking the wharves at Charity, the hospitals and mortuary to see if they could get information on their loved ones.
His daughter, Sayana, who was present during the interview with this reporter, said that she was extremely grateful that her father made it out of the catastrophe alive. She too was worried about the other family who were yet to be located.
Joandry
Nine-year-old, Joandry and her mother also survived the horrific tragedy and were rescued eight hours later. The woman was distressed that her 16-year-old son who was with them, had not surfaced.
She showed this reporter her badly bruised and black and blue hands, sustained from clutching onto the objects in the water, for dear life. She recalled that she and her 16-year-old son were resting in the hammock and after the wave hit there were screams everywhere. She woke up her son.
In the water, she and two other boys were clinging to a mattress that they found floating. Then she saw a piece of vinolay and reached for it as well for more support. Suddenly one of the boys’ grip loosened from the mattress. She said she kept “hollering, hollering, help, help!” Then asked herself: “Who gon help me…?”
She marvelled at Joandry’s bravery in not only swimming to save her own life, but helping another child who held on to her. The woman was also grateful that her eldest daughter who is pregnant and had travelled with them in the boat to go to Georgetown a few days prior to the mishap, went back home safely by plane.
Joandry told this reporter that after the boat capsized she decided to use her swimming skills to save her life. As she was doing so, the other child who could not swim, held on to her desperately. She swam with the child until she was able to hold on to an old ice box that was floating in the water.
After that she saw some people holding on to a big freezer and she and the other girl joined them.
She then heard her mother calling out her name and she shouted to let her know that she was safe. Her mother, whose hands had become bruised and black and blue, from clinging to a metal object on the mattress, also joined her to hold on to the freezer.
Despite being in pain and having chills from being in the dark, cold water for so many hours, they were determined to keep fighting to stay alive until help came. When the boat finally arrived, the crew could not locate them immediately.
Once they got on the boat they were extremely grateful and relieved that they had survived the most bone-chilling and challenging experiences of their lives.
Islington sailor feared dead
Raymond Somra, 57, a sailor onboard the MV Barima when it capsized, is still missing and feared dead. His daughter, Nasiya Gannie, 20, said that on Tuesday they received information that his body was recovered and a family member was needed to identify it.
Sadly, the family member was unable to determine if it was Somra’s remains due to the advanced stage of decomposition. Gannie, of Number 2 Village, West Coast Berbice, said that the only way to confirm if the body was indeed that of her father, would be through DNA testing.
She said that her father, who lived at Islington, East Bank Berbice, had retired last year but was called out back to work. He accepted the offer and signed a contract to resume duties because he loved being in the water.
Gannie, a final year student in business entrepreneurship at the University of Guyana, last spoke to her father about a week ago. When she heard of the mishap, she did not realize that it happened to the same boat her father was working on. It was not until she saw his name through a publication, that reality hit and “my heard sank…” She still did not believe until her older sister, Naydeena confirmed the information.
She said he had so many plans, and one of it was to buy a car and he had even started to prepare a garage for it.
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