A passenger on board one of the Water Taxi Service vessels probably saved the lives of five fishermen who were stranded at sea yesterday evening.
According to T&T Coast Guard reports, Johnnie Basdeo, Shiva Ramlochan, Shivanand Singh, Nirmal Ramlochan and Renrick Daniel, all from Aranjuez, San Juan, were rescued after the passenger saw them floating in the Gulf of Paria and alerted officials on board the vessel, who then contacted the Coast Guard.
The water taxi stayed with the men until the Coast Guard arrived, following the call around 3.45 pm. By 4.15 pm the men were back on land after the Coast Guard dispatched the two Interceptor vessels stationed at the Waterfront near the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain.
The five men said they were in the water for about three hours given the time they were rescued. Basdeo was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment to minor injuries, while the other men were slightly dehydrated but in good spirits and otherwise physically healthy.
The men told the Coast Guard they had gone fishing earlier yesterday but got into difficulty when the Boston Whaler they were in took in water following three large swells. The boat began to sink and the men grabbed a cooler to stay afloat.
They told Coast Guard they were at times close to land during their ordeal but attempts to swim ashore were unsuccessful as they kept being pulled back away from shore by strong currents.