A young Belize Coast guardsman died this afternoon as a result of a boating accident that occurred out in the Bacalar Chico Area. The team was enroute to San Pedro from Bacalar Chico - which is in northern Ambergris Caye - when they hit a submerged object in the water, causing two officers to be thrown overboard. While one officer sustained little to no injuries, a second officer was reportedly maimed by the boat engine, and sustained head injuries. Although the identities of the individuals cannot be disclosed at this time - because the Coast Guard has to speak with the family first - this evening Admiral Elton Bennett told us what he could about the accident.
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant at Belize Coast Guard
"Sometime around three o'clock this evening, we received information, very unfortunate situation, that one of our vessels suffered a casualty up in the Bacalar Chico area, that's northern Ambergris. They were moving from Bacalar Chico down towards San Pedro after completing three weeks of operational duty. They would have been extracted into Belize City. So the information that we received was that the vessel hit a submerged object and a captain of the vessel lost control and two members went overboard. One of the members that went overboard had a severed arm and had injuries to his head. After receiving that information, we immediately deployed a much quicker vessel to meet them halfway, transported the individual over and then took him into San Pedro, where we handed him over to the emergency services in San Pedro. At that point, he was declared dead upon arrival."
Reporter
"You said that they hit a submerged item in the water. Did they find out what it was?"
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant at Belize Coast Guard
"At this point, we don't know. That's just preliminary information. A detailed investigation will follow. An investigation that would involve the police. It's a loss of life, therefore the police would be involved in terms of doing a detailed investigation and then we will also ask the Belize Port Authority to get involved to do a marine casualty investigation. It's a major marine casualty as a matter of fact. They would come and look at this with an independent eye to determine if there was any breach of safety as relates to navigation or any human error that could have resulted in a loss of life. Then we look at those investigations, look at the outcome and then look at the recommendations that come from those investigations and then make amendments and improve on our system if there was any breach of safety that was involved."
Reporter
"As for the second person, did he receive any injuries as well?"
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant at Belize Coast Guard
"I don't know the full details of the second person, but I know that he's okay. He's not in hospital at this time. I believe he is with the crew in San Pedro."
The Belize Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the accident along with the Belize Police department and the Belize Port authority.
Tomorrow we'll have the officers name and photo.
