Today, the lives of 5 law enforcement officers were on the line after they were lost at sea when their vessel capsized. But, very fortunately, two police officers, one scenes of crime, and two coast guardsmen were saved within hours.
The 5 of them were heading from Belize city to the Turneffe Atoll in the south to investigate a drowning and bring the body back to Belize. But, when they left out at 11:00 am, it was into choppy seas, and by 11:30 am, the distress call came in that the vessel was taking on water. Within minutes, it capsized - right in the Belize City Harbour.
But, with a seasonal winds and chilly waters, the risks were high, and time was of the essence. The coast guard mobilised 5 of its boats, and called upon its partners in fisheries and the water taxi business, along with the BDF, Astrum and Maya Air.
In total 7 boats and 3 air assets were conducting the search - but around 2:30 it is a fishing vessel that found the 5 law enforcement personnel, holding unto a life ring, just south of Stake Bank Caye -= off the Belize City Coast.
Coast Guard acting Commander Greg Soberanis told us more:
Commander. Greg Soberanis - Acting Commandant, BCG "The choppy seas eventually capsized the vessel all 5 persons onboard were in the water, the vessel eventually submerged and just prior to the vessel going under, the coast guard commander made a distress call to the operation center stating they were going under and we eventually lost communication. He gave us a general description and location of where he was, we immediately mobilised our search units and deployed them to the general area of where we last had contact with the team moving to the Turneffe atoll. We had to be quick with our response time, they were eventually found at approximately 2:15 in the afternoon by a local fishing vessel that was in the area. They saw the coast guard assets conducting the search and they also cited a few life jackets. They moved to where they saw the life jacket and they heard the security personnel making noise to draw their attention they eventually moved in, were able to recover them from the water, made contact with coast guard headquarters and that concluded the search for the 5 security personnel. We give god thanks; they were all found alive and well. All 5 service members had on a life jacket and they also had a life ring; they were all holding on to that life ring. I spoke to one of the coast guard men and he said that they spoke to each other to keep each other calm and they also prayed. This could have turned out a whole lot worse if the protocols we have here were not adhered to as it related to having that life jacket, having life ring on board the vessel, if these things were not present, the situation would have been far worse especially given the sea state and the weather conditions at the time."
Two of the law enforcement personnel were taken to the hospital for cramping - but nothing serious.
As for the mission they were going on - that was to retrieve the body of an American tourist that drowned at the Turneffe Island Resort, located at the south end of Turneff Atoll.
At around 9:00 last night, 34 year old American national, Stephanie Nevis had allegedly been drinking at the resort's bar. When it got to closing time, she left the bar, walked to the seaside and did not return.
Hotel staff went to look for her, and when they reached the seaside, they heard her screaming for help. A police report says both men went into the water and retrieved Stephanie Nevis, and performed CPR, but they could not revive her.
We also learned today that another American who was on a vessel travelling from Belize to Livingston, Guatemala has gone missing. His vessel was found in Guatemala and his dinghy was found today in Belizean waters. There are no signs of the sailor.
