Bodies of quarry employees recovered following suspected drowning

The bodies of a man and his son-in-law were recovered in the Essequibo River on Tuesday, hours after they reportedly drowned.

The dead men have been identified as Vijai Lallmoni and Solendra Bhookmohan, both employees of the St Mary’s Quarry, Region Seven.

According to reports, at about 19:15hrs Monday, the men left for Bartica in a wooden boat to purchase goods for their kitchen.

However, Lallmoni’s wife subsequently went to the Essequibo River where she noticed the boat was drifting with its engine on.

There was no sign of the men and calls to their cellphones went unanswered.

As such, a missing person report was filed at the Bartica Police Station.

Police thereafter visited the scene and found that the steering rod of the boat was broken.

A search was immediately launched but there was still no sign of the victims.

The News Room understands that about 11:20hrs Tuesday, the men bodies were found floating in the Essequibo River.

It is suspected that they drowned after the boat was involved in an incident.

Lallmoni body bore a laceration to his left ear while Bhookman had a laceration to his right foot.

Both bodies were taken to the Bartica Hospital Mortuary; the bodies are expected to be transported to Georgetown for post-mortem examinations.

Investigations are ongoing.