Relatives of four fishermen, who went missing at sea close to two weeks ago, remain hopeful that their loved ones will be found alive. The GDF Coast Guard is assisting with the searches.

The missing men have been identified as Hazrat Razack called “Denno” of Belle West, Canal No. 2, West Bank Demerara (WBD); Cicil Persaud also known as “Dallas” of Sisters Village, WBD; Vickram Singh of Longpond, WBD; and Worrin Yipsam of Herstelling, East Bank of Demerara.

Razack’s daughter, Hazena Bahadur, told News Source today that her father was last seen on Thursday, November 16, when he and the three other fishermen departed to render assistance to another boat that had encountered technical problems just off the Atlantic Ocean, and had sent a distress call.

“The boat sent in a distress call Wednesday and Thursday, they left to take out a battery and alternator and since then we ain’t hear back from them,” Bahadur explained.

Bahadur said two months ago, the fishermen had ventured out at sea to render assistance to another crew, and had returned within two days, and as such, she had anticipated that her father and the other fishermen would have returned by Saturday. But when Saturday came and there was no sign of the men, she knew something was wrong.  

“When the fourth day reach, we didn’t see them coming. But we were thinking that they probably bringing in the boat, tugging it in but we didn’t get no response then, and then the boat that they went out to assist end up coming in back two days ago,” Bahadur said.

She said the boat that the fishermen went out to assist returned two days ago but had not come into contact with her father and the other fishermen.

The families of the fishermen have since filed missing persons reports and have been working along with the Coast Guard as they conduct a search and rescue operation.

Dhanraj Persaud – the son of Cicil Persaud – told News Source that that he was part of the team that went out with the Coast Guard both via sea and air in search of his father and the other fishermen.

Persaud said there was no sign of the fishermen or the boat called ‘Assiya.’ However, there have been reports of the boat being sighted somewhere in the Pomeroon river.

“One fisherman said he saw the boat but he didn’t know the boat missing, that was last week Monday [November 20]. He didn’t know the boat missing, that’s what he said. So we worked with him, collect he with the Coast Guard boat…and when we go at the location with the Coast Guard dem, we ain’t see them, so he said probably them man mussie drift off more into the deep heading to Trinidad side,” Persaud said.

The GDF Coast Guard has reached out to the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard to assist with the search efforts out at sea.

The searches are expected to continue tomorrow.

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