The badly decomposed body of missing fisherman, Mahindranouth Jaipaul, 56, Mon Repos North, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was found on Friday along the Eversham foreshore Corentyn, Berbice.
The man went missing after the boat in which he and his crew were fishing, reportedly sank last Sunday.
Jaipaul along with his crewmates left their Mon Repos homes on Wednesday and headed out to sea, aboard a fishing vessel with licence number SK 1798.
According to the boat’s owner, Totaram Ramdharry, of Number 65 Village, Corentyne, the boat captain, who goes by the name “Joe” of Mon Repos had been working on one of his boats since May of this year.
He said at about 03:00h on Sunday, he received a telephone call informing him that the boat was taking in water after the outboard engine had stopped working.
According to the fisherman/businessman, he advised his workmen to see how best they could deal with the issue and even recommended getting rid of the seine to ease the weight of the boat.
Meantime, efforts were made to find a boat in the area to rescue the crew but before they could find one, the vessel went down. The incident occurred on the Corentyne River just off Port Nickerie in the Dutch-speaking territory.
Three members of the crew reportedly used the icebox to float. However, Jaipaul was not with them, as he reportedly disappeared during the dark hours in the rough waters.
During a search, the $11 million boat was discovered but it was completely wrecked. “We can’t do nothing, I tell them search for the man because that is material things so fishing work a go, we na get insurance or nothing,” Ramdharry said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the man’s body washed ashore. It was positively identified by the now-dead man’s brother. He said the black short pants, a red T-shirt, and also a cut on his chest allowed him to do so.
“Well everybody feel please because we thought we would have never found him. Because in them situation that you don’t find them back. So, everybody feel please so that we can do the last rites,” the brother told this publication. Jaipaul had been a fisherman for the past 17 years.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted on Monday.
