US-based Guyanese drowns in Bahamas

A 26-year-old US-based Guyanese man drowned last week while he was on a vacation cruise in The Bahamas.

The dead man has been identified as Akeem Charles.

In a telephone interview with the News Room, his sister Sherry Ann Charles, said Akeem and three other family members, including his mother, departed the U.S. on August 27 with a group of more than 70 church members for a cruise.

The cruise was initially expected to go to Miami but due to a hurricane, they had to divert to The Bahamas.

And while there, Akeem and his relatives went to the Ocean Cay Island, a private island to spend the day on the beach on August 31.

“…They [were] in the water at Ocean Cay Island, they came out, they had lunch and before they go back to the boat they [were] walking around the island and whilst walking around the island, they encounter a lagoon…The water was quite calm,” Sherry Ann explained.

Akeem and another sister went into the water when they noticed that he was struggling.  The sister called out to the lifeguard and Charles was subsequently pulled out of the water.

Sherry Ann claimed that he was still alive but a delay in administering CPR resulted in his death.

Police in The Bahamas have launched an investigation into the incident. Sherry Ann told the News Room that the family is still waiting for Akeem’s body to be handed over to them for burial.

Akeem worked in the packaging department at Amazon.