Two deaths in tragic boat accident • Skipper detained by police |17 August 2018
Authorities yesterday confirmed that a five-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl tragically lost their lives during a boat accident which occurred during a trip from La Digue to Praslin on Wednesday night.
The children were cousins and were accompanied by their parents after participating in the Assumption celebrations.
Moreover the skipper of the vessel, identified as a 20-year-old man, is being detained by the police and is expected to appear in court today.
It was police spokesperson Jean Toussaint along with the director general of the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) who confirmed the above to media houses yesterday.
“This is an incident that we are treating as a very serious case, we have two persons who lost their lives and initial investigation into the matter has given the police enough evidence to detain the skipper,” Mr Toussaint said.
Mr Toussaint revealed that the skipper refused to take a breathalyzer test in order to establish his body’s alcohol level but that a blood sample was retrieved from him for analysis.
According to the initial investigation, the boat involved – Lyly -- left La Digue between 9 and 9.30 in the evening and was heading to Côte D’Or, Praslin with sixteen persons on board, including the skipper.
Mr Toussaint stated that the accident was reported to the police around 10.47pm and further added that police officers reached the scene of the accident in the space of six minutes.
Other partners were also quick to respond to the scene and these included the marine police, health services, Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) and SMSA.
Mr Toussaint also acknowledged that there were members of the public who were also present at the scene.
“It took around 2 hours for us to carry out the rescue operations surrounding this incident; the first victim to be seen and retrieved was the little girl followed by the boy.”
The accident had a third casualty, a 19-year-old boy, who was transported to hospital on Mahé after suffering from injuries to his thighs and legs.
According to Mr Toussaint the teenage boy, who hail from Port-Glaud Mahé, was the only non-Praslinois onboard the vessel.
“According to the report, the boat was on its way to Praslin from La Digue when it was hit by a wave in the vicinity of Chauve Souris Island and subsequently capsized,” Captain Valmont explained.
The incident occurred at an estimated 200 metres from the shores of Côte D’Or, Praslin.
Captain Valmont further stated that the sea was quite rough with low visibility and was the main factor as to why it took the rescuers a while to retrieve all the victims.
It is to be noted that since the start of celebrations on La Digue SMSA has established three around the clock spot-checks; one near Ste Anne Island, another in the bay of Baie Ste Anne Praslin and the third located at La Passe, La Digue.
However the pier master on La Digue did not see and was not made aware when Lyly left the island although he confirmed that the spot-check was operational at the time.
Lyly is a hire-craft boat that measures approximately 8.1 metres and which has a valid licence. The number of people onboard the boat that night was within the boat’s capacity limit.
The boat is currently in the custody of the police at the Grand Anse Praslin police station as investigation on the incident continues.
This is the third such incident in the space of three years and the authorities are yet stressing on the necessity for individuals to be more responsible when it comes to sea-travel.
“On Wednesday August 15 the police on La Digue detained at least two skippers who were under the influence of alcohol and I do not think this is right after the past incidents. If we as passengers see that someone is unfit to operate a vessel, we should call that person out and not enter that vessel,” Mr Toussaint concluded.