Fisherman dies after falling from vessel during fishing expedition

by CHRISTINA SMITH

A dark cloud has been cast over the fishing community of Barrouallie after one its residents drowned on the North Leeward coast under circumstances that are still being pieced together.

On January 31, Devon ‘Sleepy’ Morgan, aged 33, was pulled from the waters at Cumberland Bay after he fell from a vessel during a daily fishing expedition.

News of his death quickly spread through the Leeward communities with many questioning what led the fisherman, who was described as a strong swimmer by his fellow crewmen, to fall overboard and drown.

According to preliminary investigations, at about 12:25 p.m, officers at the Spring Village Police Station received a telephone report stating that someone had drowned at Cumberland Bay. Upon arrival at the scene, they met a male lying on the shore of Cumberland Bay in an unresponsive state and surrounded by bystanders. The deceased was later identified by a female fisher of Barrouallie. Reports from police said that Morgan was among a group of persons who were fishing in the waters off Cumberland Bay.
Also in the group was Ariel James, a long-time fisher from Barrouallie who had been working alongside Morgan for just two weeks.
She told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview from the Bayside community that the day started out normal with no major hiccups.

“We went out like we usually do everyday. Nothing didn’t seem off. He [Morgan] never say he was sick. Nothing so. He was good all the time.”

There were three vessels that made the trip up the coast that Wednesday with a total of 13 fishers in tow. Those in the vessel with Morgan dived down; he remained on board, while a few others were in the other two vessels. James said she and others were under the water when they became aware of a commotion happening on the surface.

“When we get to the top now we hear people ah call say Sleepy jump over, and that he not coming back up. So we dive down and look and look. Then we find him on the bottom with he face down.”

James said she and others raced to retrieve Morgan from the ocean floor and took him back to the surface, estimating that he was underwater for around five to ten minutes. Despite their best efforts performing CPR, the fishers were not able to revive Morgan and he passed away.

James told SEARCHLIGHT that the details of the tragic drowning are still not entirely clear as she was diving when Morgan went overboard, and some on the surface were initially confused as to what was happening.

“Them [fishermen] probably thought he jump in to cool off he skin cause he was hot. He didn’t have on no diving gear, just a pants. It is only when they realize he didn’t come back up that they start shouting out for we. He was a strong swimmer, if anything had happen he could of help out he self.”

James disclosed that someone saw Morgan’s body “went stiff” before he fell overboard leading them to believe that he most likely suffered a seizure.

For James, who just lost her mother last month, Morgan’s death has been a tough blow. She said that she has been fishing for almost two decades and has never experienced a tragedy with crew, adding this incident has left her shaken up.

She expressed concern about the “bad thing” residents in Barrouallie were saying, casting them on those who sailed out with Morgan for not preventing the tragedy, but James told SEARCHLIGHT everyone acted swiftly and did the best they could to save their fellow fisherman.

James said the biggest hurdle at present is the sourcing of funds to cover the funeral expenses to lay Morgan to rest.