Man died in the water after boat ran aground

| 30/05/2024 | 14 Comments

(CNS): A 54-year-old man from Bodden Town died in the very early hours of Wednesday morning after the boat he was in ran onto the reef around Colliers Channel in East End. Although Cayman Islands Coast Guard officers had advised him and another man on board to remain on the boat, he had entered the water to try to enable the rescue of his vessel.

According to a press release about the incident, at about 11:45pm on Tuesday, 28 May, the CICG Operations and Rescue Coordination Centre received a report of a boat in distress off the coast near a resort in East End. It was reported that the vessel had run onto the reef with two men on board. No injuries were reported at that time.

When they arrived, the CICG attempted to rescue the boat, but “unfortunately, due to the position of the vessel on the reef, their efforts proved unsuccessful. The occupants of the vessel were advised that as the tide was rising, they should remain onboard and the vessel should eventually free itself.”

As everyone waited for the sea to rise, one of the men aboard the grounded boat got into the water and requested a tow line from the coastguard vessel. However, as he made his way back with the line to the grounded vessel, he appeared to get into difficulty and became immobile. One of the coastguard officers entered the ocean and pulled him out, but by that time he was unresponsive.

He was taken aboard the coastguard vessel, and officers began CPR as they headed for shore. They were met by EMS, who took the man to the George Town hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Attempts to remove the boat from the reef were unsuccessful. Therefore, the second man was taken aboard the coastguard vessel and transported to the shore, where he was assessed by EMS.

Officials said that a full investigation is now being conducted into the circumstances of the incident.


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Category: Local News

Comments (14)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Guessing here but that poor fella would have been an experienced swimmer or he would have never jumped in the water in the first place. He probably accidentally swallowed a bit of water and was unable to recuperate from that.
    I feel for EVERYONE involved! The Coastguard and EMT’s all know CPR! Stop saying they do not know how to perform CPR. It may have been too late by the time they got him out. They ALWAYS care about their rescues. They absolutely would do anything they could to save all victims in trouble that need aid.
    Y’all be some judgmental armchair quarterbacks! Just simmer down until you know the facts! NOT a screenshot of a text message of someone trying to be the first one to spread the ‘news’.

  2. Anonymous says:

    CMR shoul dbe sharged criminally for the accoint of this misadventure that they pblished initially. Shocking that she gets away with it every time.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Strictly speaking, they didn’t. They posted a screenshot of someone else’s account of the incident. Still woulda been better had they just said they heard of an incident and would report more once more info available from police.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Condolences to the family ! whatever chapter’s the coast guard story is missing they gave the correct advice , when grounded your best bet is to wait for a high tide although it can take hours sometime a foot of water can make a big difference in these situations , I’m sure the coast guard and everyone else wished it ended differently

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  4. Anonymous says:

    This CICG account seems to be missing a chapter or two.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You were there?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Look, this person has obviously been reading all the knee-jerk, ill informed comments on the alternative facts kinda outlet we all know and love.

        Firstly, thoughts for the deceased man. Secondly, quit making wutless comments about the death unless you were there.

        The idiots calling out RCIPS, the CPR skills etc. get a grip ffs.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Unfortunate outcome aside, in the context of gun, ammo, drug and human trafficking interdiction efforts, is it generally accepted by the Coast Guard as normal for two men to be loitering out in a boat at a vulnerable security threshold, ie sea channel entrance, at midnight on a Tuesday night? Is it not suspicious that one of the men wanted to pre-empt the Coast Guard’s approach, and disobey expressed instruction, by jumping into the water for a rope? Did person B discard contraband while person A’s EMS situation was being handled? What was the boat size, cargo, expressed intentions for being there at that hour? These are all reasonable queries that ought to have been reflected in the situation report.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Let’s not jump to conclusions not every thing is suspicious.

          I’m an expat. Been in Cayman and the wider Caribbean for donkeys years. There’s nothing I love more than going night fishing with my Caymanian neighbours. We go out through the channel, sometimes before dark, sometimes after, depending on the tides. We don’t come in till morning. Sitting out there waiting for a bite is amazing at night, better than meditation.

          Mind you, the guys I know go by tides and know the waters and reefs, and would also know if the anchor had slipped and the boat was moving too close to the reef, which is what I was wondering might have happened here.

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          • Anonymous says:

            The peaceful among us are enduring times of high criminal proclivity in Cayman and we should be more suspicious to challenge the permissive attitudes of the past. The fact is, there are no swordfish hanging out in those channels at midnight, and more often, square grouper. If it’s not suspicious, it should be. Did they have any fishing equipment on board? Bait? If so, put it in the report. The CICG didn’t do that, and notably there is no reference to the men as fishermen, which might reasonable explain away why they happened to be out there, and in this unfortunate, turned tragic situation at that hour.

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        • YES SIREE says:

          2:12 pm you sem to be an educated fool. Round here peoplego fishing all hours of day and night. its obvious the men involved were not familiar with the channel therefore the grounding on the reef. just so you know it is known tht the deceased conducted a succesful gardening service and was a well known and well liked human being. casting aspersions on a dead man may turn you on, but surely in the eyes of many who knew him, it makes you seem like a dyam fool. i will strech the latter even further to add “a foreign immigrant donkey.

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          • Anonymous says:

            He’s still alive tho. Not like the guy that ignored coastguard advice and jumped over the side unto a reef in the dark. Who presumably wasnt a foreign ignorant donkey.

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