00:00The body of a five-year-old Venezuelan girl, identified as Brittany Palacios,
00:06was found at Los Iroh Beach around 7.20 a.m. on Thursday,
00:11more than 17 hours after the boat she was traveling in with her mother and grandmother,
00:16capsized at sea.
00:18She is the second death of a boating tragedy which occurred around midday on Wednesday,
00:23when a pirogue illegally attempted to leave Los Iroh bound for Venezuela,
00:28according to leader of the hunter's search and rescue team, Valence Rambraat,
00:32who says he has been in contact with survivors of the incident.
00:37What we were told was that 29 persons were seeking to leave Trinidad to head to Venezuela,
00:45and amongst the 29 persons were six children.
00:50They also indicated to us that four persons were unaccounted for.
00:55That is two adult males, one adult female, and one a six-year-old girl.
01:03Of the four missing passengers, the body of an adult male was found floating near to shore
01:08and brought in by the TNT Coast Guard around 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
01:13The child was later found when the hunter's team began searching on Thursday morning.
01:18Rambraat says survivors recalled agitated sea conditions during the journey.
01:23We were told that it was engine failure that caused the boat not to progress from near the shoreline
01:32into the deeper sea area, and that that failure to start the engine caused the boat to capsize.
01:39The fact that a lot of them made it to the shore means that the boat would have capsized
01:46very near to the shore, and that five children were able to meet at a shore.
01:51Clothes, toys and colouring books found scattered along the Losirou shoreline
01:56adjust some of the washed-up belongings of the capsized migrant boat
02:00which is carrying 23 adults and six children on Wednesday.
02:05An adult male and female was said to be still unaccounted for,
02:10leading the search team to conduct a walk from Losirou to Eirene
02:14with officers of the TTPS's coastal unit, but no sightings were made up to news time.
02:21The ordinary fishing pierog ought not to be used to transport 29 persons.
02:28The weight alone of 29 persons plus their luggage does overload,
02:34and difficulties would arise.
02:38He says this incident is not a first for migrants attempting an illegal entry or exit to Trinidad,
02:45and if anything, shows the need for greater law enforcement.
02:49Meanwhile, only days ago, a ferry in Guyana capsized off the Essequibo coast
02:55while transporting over 100 people.
02:58Recovery efforts continue there, with 65 bodies retrieved so far.
03:03The Guyanese incident and the incident with the St. Vincent's 7th vessel recently
03:10means that we have to step up in terms of our maritime policy and maritime laws
03:17to ensure that there's compliance for all marine vessels operating within our waters.
03:23Cindy Raghuva, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
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