The body of a man was this afternoon retrieved from the Haulover Creek in Belize City where he drowned.
At around 3 this afternoon residents in downtown Belize City were alarmed when they saw the man in the strong currents of the river unable to come to shore. It was then that some of the same residents decided to jump in and give him assistance. We were first on the scene as the body was retrieved and spoke to one of the rescuers police officer Brenton Longsworth.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
The body of the unidentified man was brought up to shore by three divers who jumped into the Haulover Creek to save him from. But it seemed the efforts proved useless as after vigorous attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Police officers Brentford Longsworth was one of 4 persons who jumped in to assist the drowning man. He says he was at a nearby barbershop getting a trim when he heard the commotion at the swing bridge.
Brentford Longsworth,
“I heard a commotion and I saw the gentleman under the bridge and someone hollered from the Bar that he was drowning. The currently was kind of strong so it looks like he couldn’t hold on to the bridge and he float down this way. There was more commotion and people started to gather on the bridge and I ran across and went behind the market, took off my clothes and jumped into the water. By that time I saw an American man jump into the water and by that he was already submerged in the water and I guess he got kind of tired because he was trying to hold on but the black boat was kind of slippery.”
Longsworth says that the man may have either fallen in or jumped into the river from behind the Traveller’s Bar some ways off and the current dragged him to where he was found behind the marine terminal building.
Alfonso Noble,
Which part you find him exactly?
Brentford Longsworth,
“Right behind the boat like ten feet away. He hadn’t already float to the surface but he was coming up.”
Police took the body of the man to the hospital's morgue where it awaits both identification and a post mortem.
Atley is believed to have been at the nearby Travellers Bar drinking when he somehow ended in the river.