Fishermen from the Three Door Sluice at the D’Edward Fishing Wharf, West Coast Berbice (WCB) are frantically searching for Suraj Dhaneshwar, a fisherman who is now missing after his boat capsized in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Dhaneshwar, 28, a father of one of Railway Line, Rosignol, WCB, was fishing with his captain in the Corentyne River when the boat sank at about 02:00hrs.
The News Room understands that the captain, identified only as ‘Coppy’ survived the incident and is assisting the police with the investigation.
Several boats that went in search of the missing fisherman returned empty-handed on Wednesday afternoon. But the News Room understands that four boats went out again to look for him.
At the fishing wharf, Dhaneshwar’s wife Anita Seecharran, his mother Chandrawattie Persaud, and his sister Omawattie Dhaneshwar gathered with the hope that the search parties will return with positive news.
However, the boats only returned with an icebox that Dhaneshwar was reportedly clinging to in the water.
Omawattie told the News Room that her brother left home at about 03:00hrs on Tuesday, but it was not until Wednesday morning that they were informed that he was missing.
“This morning (Wednesday) when we wake up, the captain for the boat and the supervisor for the fishery come by us…she (supervisor) told us there was an accident and they not finding him”, the sister relayed.
She disclosed that based on what the captain said, he [the captain] held on to the capsized boat while her brother held on to the icebox. The captain was rescued by other fishermen but Dhaneshwar and the icebox drifted away.
According to the missing man’s mother, they had a huge catch.
“Dem catch nuff fish and the box full so they decided to come way last night but whilst coming home, I don’t know how far in they were but the boat capsized,” Mrs Persaud said.
Hopeful
Relatives remain hopeful that Dhaneshwar may still be alive somewhere.
They said while the chances are very slim, they believe he may have drifted far away from the point where the incident took place.
Meanwhile, the News Room understands that Dhaneshwar had stopped working with the said captain some three weeks ago, but this week he was called to work with him.
His mother explained that he was willing to get some work since he has a young wife and a two-year-old child to take care of. The mother said he is also building a house for his family.
Dhaneshwar has been fishing for the past four years and previously worked as a fisherman in Suriname and the Rosignol Fishing Complex.
