By Sue-Ann Wayow
A DECOMPOING body found off the coast of Moruga is believed to be that of one of the four missing fishermen from Guayaguayare.
The body was seen on Tuesday by a fisherman who alerted the Hunters Search and Rescue Team head Vallence Rambharat.
Rambharat said the body was unrecognisable and it could be one of the fishermen who disappeared while fishing off Guayaguayare on January 31.
He said fisherman saw the body six and three-quarter nautical miles south off Grand Chemin beach in Moruga.
Rambharat was informed of the sighting around 1 pm on Tuesday and he told the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard. The TTCG retrieved the body on Wednesday and it was taken to Dass Funeral Home in Marabella where family members of the missing fishermen viewed the body. They were unable to give a positive identification.
The body was then sent to the Forensic Science Centre in St James.
He told AZP News that family members were allowed to take pictures and share with the hope of identifying who the person was.
Based on the state of decomposition, Rambharat said the body would most likely be identified by either the clothing or via the dental reports.
He said, “The family members have a bit of uneasiness. They have come to grips with the situation and are just looking for closure at this point. Any hopes of finding the men alive are diminishing at this point.”
Rambharat presumed that this body was stuck in a rock or something else for sometime before the high tides took it out to sea.
He said, “We are doing all within our power. We are committed to finding those bodies. The MP for Mayaro Rushton Paray has been extremely supportive. In his communication, he is on point. He has been extremely helpful.”
The body believed to be that of another fisherman was found entangled in the mangroves at Cocuina, North Venezuela.
Rambharat said Paray was laising with Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne as both Trinidad and Tobago authorities and Venezuela’s were working to have the body returned to Trinidad.
He also predicted that by this month, the other two bodies would be found as more fishermen were venturing out to sea to catch fish for the Lenten season.
The group illustrated a map to show the distance from where the men first ventured out to fish, where the first body was found and where the second body was found.
Rambharat said he requested from Paray to ask for more air patrols along the southern coast up to Trinidad’s borders.
Andy Tallman George, Captain George Otis, Heeralal ‘Linus’ Cooblal, Rishi Khemchan, left the Seawall Guayaguayare on January 31 for an extended fishing trip but did not return.
The boat was found on February 5 off the coast of Cedros. Extensive searches have been conducted for the men since being reported missing.
