• group disappears on boat trip in Grenadines

A number of families from different parts of St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Grenada are hoping that fate falls on their side and their relatives would be alive. They hope for a miracle and the eventual recovery of seven persons.{{more}}

Those missing are Wilfred Ollivierre, of Bequia, owner and captain of a 20-foot boat, his son Keron John, Nigel DeRoche from the southern Grenadine Island of Canouan, Lystra Lambert, Gertrude Compton, and Calvin Patterson from Carriacou, as well as George Steel from Grenada.

The seven persons left Canouan around 8:20 last Sunday morning to be part of Easter Regatta activities on Bequia.

Information from residents on Bequia, the largest Grenadine Island, is that Ollivierre took two persons to Canouan. He picked up additional passengers on his way up and the weight seemed to have affected his fuel supply. Ollivierre telephoned for help around 7 pm Sunday complaining that he had run out of fuel in his 60 HP craft around the area of “Ramay.”

According Sylvester Tannis speaking from Bequia, a massive exercise involving the Southern Caribbean network has been put in operation to locate the boat.

Tannis was busy on his Ham Radio when contacted. He was spearheading efforts towards alerting ships, planes neighbouring islands, other transport and relevant bodies of the missing boat. He was worried that the boat might be difficult to spot because it is painted blue.

He lamented that the boat was not outfitted with lights or communicational devices. And there was also no extra allocation of rations.

Crews of Bequia fishermen maintained the intensity of the searches over the past days, but so far they have uncovered no evidence of the boat or passengers.

The Vincentian Coast Guard joined in the operation and the mission was continuing.