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FRIDAY,
JANUARY 23, 2015
VOLUME 109, No.04
www.thevincentian.com
EC$1.50
An indication of the turbulence near to the shoreline, where it was expected that the divers would concentrate their search.
Petty Officer Lennox Williams, who took charge of the recovery effort, admitted that, given the turbulent waters close to the shoreline, it was the correct thing for his men and the local divers to retreat to safety. by DAYLE DA SILVA CONTRARY TO THE OPINIONS expressed by members of the general public on radio talk shows and/or social media, the adverse weather conditions and wave action forced the suspension of the recovery efforts by the Coast Guard, following the fatal accident at
“On that particular day, as a diver, once you go to conduct a mission, you have to consider the weather and the conditions — safety first is the Coast Guard motto,” Williams continued. According to Williams, when he arrived on the scene that morning, there was already a Coast Guard vessel which had earlier been deployed, with three officers and three locals on board. “I had a chat with the Petty Officer on the scene, and the men who were there (and) I invited them on board my vessel,” he explained. He proceeded to question them about their own experience in the water. After briefing the men, Williams said that he and the men dove into the water. “And we would have already realised that the height of the waves, it was very challenging, the current was very strong [and] the visibility was very poor, at least outside Taking charge the deep, visibility was about 10 feet,” Williams said. The area (Rock Gutter) is As they got closer to the patrolled by the Coast Guard rocks, Williams explained on a regular basis, Williams that, they realised that it was informed, and he assured that too risky, and the possibility of they “know the area.” But the life threatening injuries was conditions at Rock Gutter were now eminent. of a totally different nature on “So where the waves were that morning, he said. breaking, that was the Rock Gutter on January 12. This is the word coming from Petty Officer Lennox Williams, master diver with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard, when he addressed a joint press briefing of the Police Force and the Coast Guard, on Wednesday. Williams’ explanation came amidst heavy criticisms by members of the public, who were of the view that the Coast Guard responded too late, and were not well equipped to handle the situation; and that untrained villagers were the heroes of the day for braving the elements to help recover victims. Williams, with 18 years of service with the SVG Coast Guard, training at the United States Naval Diving and Salvage Training Centre, is a first class deep sea specialist in operating and supervising any type of diving operations.
furthest we could have gone. The waves and the current were getting stronger while we were in the water. I pulled the guys together while we were in the water, and the local guys were the first to say that the water was getting terrible and we need to get out,” he said. He made the decision to retreat to safety. Williams explained further, that given the turbulence, no member of the Coast Guard or local diver, at any time, was able to get within close proximity of the shore line. Searches were conducted in other areas and items retrieved, including a number of book bags and some other bags containing personal items. Once they were back on board, Williams said that they began surface searches, in anticipation that the conditions would get better and allow them to resume the recovery efforts. Williams emphasised that the Coast Guard did not leave the scene until some time after dark on the day of the accident —and did so only after they received instructions so to do.
Quick response Commander Brenton Caine
Commander Brenton Caine was firm in saying that the first Coast Guard vessel was deployed within minutes of receiving the first call. came out in defence of his unit. He disclosed that the first team was deployed to the scene within minutes of them receiving the call. That call was received from Lieutenant Deon Henry, who was at the time on a training course in Barbados. This was around 7:45 am, Commander Caine said. Continued on Page 3.