Copyright trinidadexpress
ANOTHER party boat has sunk at the Buccoo Reef Marine Park in Tobago. According to a police report, at around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Rush Hour Glass Bottom owned by Sherwin Melville, 55, of Milford Court, departed Pigeon Point Jetty with approximately 65 people and proceeded on a reef tour. Around 6.15 p.m. whilst at Nylon Pool Jetty the boat experienced difficulties due to people coming on board from other reef boats, causing it to become overloaded. As a result the rear of the vessel sank, causing the boat to ground off. The report stated that approximately 38 people were conveyed to Gibson Jetty by pirogue operators and approximately eight people were conveyed to Pigeon Point Jetty. Corporal Lewis and WPC Caesar of the Crown Point Police Station responded to the incident. All passengers were brought to shore safely with no injuries reported. In a video of the sinking, a woman is heard shouting for one of the passengers named “Aaron”. Her shouts were heard by onlookers who assisted her in finding her missing relative. This is the second such incident reported within the month of October, with another vessel, Cool Runnings, suffering similar fate on October 4. A committee has since been established by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), headed by chairman Allan Stewart, to institute protocols for the park. During a previous interview with the Express, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine called on the Government to pass the necessary laws to have the regularising of reef tour operators at the Buccoo Reef Marine Park, as it is only so much the THA can do with the present policies in place. President of the Store Bay Reef Tour Association Michael Frank previously suggested that a marina is needed in Tobago.
