BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - A large crowd flocked to the Port Zante Marina yesterday afternoon (April 2) as news of the drowning of two men spread through the island.
Expressions of grief, anger and curiosity were had by individuals in the gathering, which included family and friends of the deceased men.
A police press release identifies the victims as Rudolph Dowell-Daniel of Ponds Extension - an employee of the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) - and Maxwell Browne of New Road - an employee of S. L. Horsfords and Co. Ltd. And it explained that the incident occurred at about 5:15 p.m. “in the berthing area”.
While it doesn’t provide much detail on what transpired leading to the men’s death, it indicated that the vessel which the men occupied “capsized”.
Information reaching this publication however, suggests that the men were assisting with the unberthing process for one of the two cruise ships docked at Port Zante at the time. This media house understands that they were loosing the ropes which anchored one of the vessel, when some type of difficulty was experienced.
“The bodies of the vessel’s occupants...were retrieved by local divers from the water in the area in which the vessel capsized... Both men were performing their regular job duties when the incident occurred..”
The communique declared that the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Coast Guard and the SCASPA are “jointly” conducting investigations into the matter.
Tempers flared at the scene with some family members begging to enter the scene and view their relatives, requests which were eventually granted by the police.
The men were pronounced dead by District Medical Officer Dr. Laws and sometime during the evening, both bodies were removed from the scene by Jenkins Funeral Home.
Tourism Minister the Hon. Richard Skerritt, SCAPSA’s Chief Executive Officer Johnathan Bass were among the individuals who visited the scene following the incident.
”All related authorities would like to extend their condolences to the family members of both men and will provide support in their time of bereavement following this tragedy", the press release expressed.
