All 13 persons on board a catamaran vessel which sank just off Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands on the afternoon of Monday June 21, have been deemed safe.
The incident resulted in several images and videos circulating across social media platforms, which brought a sense of concern among many residents.
Speaking to 284 Media following the unfortunate accident, Office and Customer Service Manager of Navigare Yachting Avril Hipolite confirmed that all persons onboard the vessel were safe.
While not revealing the identities of the individuals on board, she said that no one suffered any serious injuries and revealed that good samaritans quickly came to the rescue of the passengers on board.
She said, “There were 13 persons on board and everybody is safe. One person received minor injuries. She got a cut to her leg, she was taken to the hospital, she is out, she is fine, she got some stitches, her leg is in a boot.”
“They were rescued by a vessel that was passing by just in time of the incident and they had to board the vessel which ended up sinking… They’re here at the Nanny Cay Hotel and just trying to come to terms with what really happened because they were all shaken up obviously and there were kids on board so it was very traumatic for them,” she added.
Vessel struck reef
Hipolite also revealed that the vessel sank after the boat struck a submerged reef in the area.
“They hit a reef, that’s what happened. The captain said there was another vessel coming either in the opposite direction which caused them to go a little bit towards the reef, and they did not notice the reef was submerged and so he did not even realise he was on top of the reef until he was on top of the reef. So pretty much that is what happened,” she explained.
Have to determine whether boat will be repairable
When asked whether the vessel was repairable, Hipolite said she was uncertain, as further assessments firstly have to be undertaken before such can be confirmed.
“We’re not sure as yet. Huskey [Salvaging] was there on the scene, yesterday afternoon we called them. It sank and flipped so Huskey was able to turn the vessel over and actually the last photos I saw of it, it was up above water. So I think the plan was to beach it and pump out all of the water inside and then tow it back into Nanny Cay to lift it in the yard,” she said.
VISAR responded to accident
284 Media also reached out to the Operations Manager of Virgin Islands Search and Rescue (VISAR), Phil Aspinall, who confirmed reports of the incident.
He said VISAR was made aware of the incident, but upon getting to the scene the passengers were already rescued and safe thanks to persons on a passing yacht.