ACTING Port Controller Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright said both the catamaran that sank enroute to Blue Lagoon Island on Tuesday and its captain fully complied with regulations governing the sector.

The vessel’s sinking led to the death of a 75-year-old American woman on Tuesday. #Lt Cdr Wright said the vessel was licensed to carry 200 people, but had 145 on board. #He said the boat had the required number of life preservers. #“The vessel is registered at the Port Department,” he said. “The captain is licensed. The registration is current. Insurance is up to date. The registration process includes an inspection, so the vessel would have been inspected and is due for another one next month.” # Lt Cdr Wright said officials will now investigate what happened, why and what measures are needed to ensure it doesn’t happen again. # He spoke to The Tribune after the Ministry of Energy and Transport said the Port Department is leading a multi-agency investigation into the accident.  # The ministry announced “the suspension of all commercial ferries in fleet of the Islander III’s operator pending a safety review by the Port Department and The Bahamas Maritime Casualty Investigators”. # Passengers on the double-deck vessel complained that staff panicked and didn’t help them as the ship sank. # Lt Cdr Wright said while this may become apparent as investigations continue, staff conduct is a matter for the company and its internal operating procedures. He suggested existing laws and regulations do not cover this. # He promised a thorough and transparent investigation. # The Tribune contacted Blue Lagoon Island representatives, but got no response up to press time.

The vessel’s sinking led to the death of a 75-year-old American woman on Tuesday.

Lt Cdr Wright said the vessel was licensed to carry 200 people, but had 145 on board.

He said the boat had the required number of life preservers.

“The vessel is registered at the Port Department,” he said. “The captain is licensed. The registration is current. Insurance is up to date. The registration process includes an inspection, so the vessel would have been inspected and is due for another one next month.”

Lt Cdr Wright said officials will now investigate what happened, why and what measures are needed to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

He spoke to The Tribune after the Ministry of Energy and Transport said the Port Department is leading a multi-agency investigation into the accident. 

The ministry announced “the suspension of all commercial ferries in fleet of the Islander III’s operator pending a safety review by the Port Department and The Bahamas Maritime Casualty Investigators”.

Passengers on the double-deck vessel complained that staff panicked and didn’t help them as the ship sank.

Lt Cdr Wright said while this may become apparent as investigations continue, staff conduct is a matter for the company and its internal operating procedures. He suggested existing laws and regulations do not cover this.

He promised a thorough and transparent investigation.

The Tribune contacted Blue Lagoon Island representatives, but got no response up to press time.

 

The father of a six-year-old boy was taken into custody after the boy reportedly shot himself in the abdomen around 8 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Grand Bahama Police Press Liaison Officer Assistant Superintendent Stephen Rolle told The Nassau Guardian "from all indications, it appears that he shot himself with that firearm".

"His condition is stable at present and he's still being attended to by doctors," Rolle said yesterday.

"Additionally, a firearm was recovered and the father is assisting police with the investigation."

Police said hospital officials notified them about the incident.

"Preliminary reports indicate the child was at home when family members heard a loud bang and discovered the child inside a bedroom with injuries to the abdomen," police said.

"The child was taken to hospital where he remains in serious but stable condition.

"Acting on intelligence, police recovered a pistol along with a large quantity of ammunition and subsequently took the relative of the child into custody."

Rolle added, "Just want to advise the general public who may find themselves in possession of illegal firearms. If you have these firearms in your possession, you need to turn these firearms in to police.

"If you refuse to do so, we will find ourselves with these same types of incidents occurring on the streets of Grand Bahama. If you are caught with these firearms, you will be arrested and put before the court."

An extensive and active search and rescue operation involving the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Operation Bahamas Turks &Caicos (OPBAT), the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), and the US Coast Guard was suspended on August 21, 2023, pending new information.

The search was initiated when the RBDF Operations Command Center received a report on theevening of August 19 regarding a twin Cessna (C402) aircraft that had departed from FortLauderdale/Hollywood International Airport en route to North Eleuthera, carrying a 70-year-oldmale passenger. The aircraft was last sighted by Fort Lauderdale towers, positioned 18 nauticalmiles northeast of Bimini.

On the morning of August 20, OPBAT conducted an initial aerial search for several hours. RBDFsurface assets, namely the HMBS Kamalamee and the RBDF Harbour Patrol Unit Safe boat, weredeployed to the last known location. Additionally, USCG, RBDF, and RBPF aircraft participatedin aerial searches. All deployed assets reported negative sightings of the overdue aircraft.

Subsequent investigations by BASRA revealed that the overdue aircraft had not landed at any ofthe major airports in the northern and central Bahamas. OPBAT continued its search efforts nearthe aircraft's last known position from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM on August 20. Despite challengingweather conditions, search operations persisted into the afternoon of August 21, 2023. Regrettably,both aerial and surface assets were unsuccessful in yielding any results.

The Commander Defence Force is committed to fostering collaboration between the RBDF, locallaw enforcement agencies and regional partners. Through joint operations and proactiveinformation sharing, these strategic alliances serve as force multipliers.

The RBDF is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in guarding our heritage. We are committedto upholding the highest standards as we protect and preserve the rich legacy that defines ournation.

For additional information, contact the RBDF Public Relations Department or visit ourofficial website at* [*www.rbdf.gov.bs](http://www.rbdf.gov.bs ""). Connect with us onFacebook and Twitter for the latest updates, and explore our engaging content on ourYouTube channel.

An extensive and active search and rescue operation involving the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Operation Bahamas Turks & Caicos (OPBAT), the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), and the US Coast Guard was suspended on August 21, 2023, pending new information. The search was initiated when the RBDF Operations Command Center received a report on the evening of August 19 regarding a twin Cessna (C402) aircraft that had departed from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport en route to North Eleuthera, carrying a 70-year-old male passenger. The aircraft was last sighted by Fort Lauderdale towers, positioned 18 nautical miles northeast of Bimini. On the morning of August 20, OPBAT conducted an initial aerial search for several hours. RBDF surface assets, namely the HMBS Kamalamee and the RBDF Harbour Patrol Unit Safe boat, were deployed to the last known location. Additionally, USCG, RBDF, and RBPF aircraft participated in aerial searches. All deployed assets reported negative sightings of the overdue aircraft. Subsequent investigations by BASRA revealed that the overdue aircraft had not landed at any of the major airports in the northern and central Bahamas. OPBAT continued its search efforts near the aircraft's last known position from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM on August 20. Despite challenging weather conditions, search operations persisted into the afternoon of August 21, 2023. Regrettably, both aerial and surface assets were unsuccessful in yielding any results. The Commander Defence Force is committed to fostering collaboration between the RBDF, local law enforcement agencies and regional partners. Through joint operations and proactive information sharing, these strategic alliances serve as force multipliers. The RBDF is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in guarding our heritage. We are committed to upholding the highest standards as we protect and preserve the rich legacy that defines our nation. For additional information, contact the RBDF Public Relations Department or visit our official website at* [*www.rbdf.gov.bs](http://www.rbdf.gov.bs ""). Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates, and explore our engaging content on our YouTube channel.

FESTIVITIES at the Aura nightclub in Atlantis ended abruptly on Sunday night when a reveller suffered a gruesome injury that left his foot partially severed.

 

A video sent to The Tribune showed a man in distress on the club’s floor as a woman carefully held his foot in her hand, trying to prevent an even worse injury. #An eyewitness recalled hearing a woman screaming for help before seeing a man on the ground with blood all around his ankle area.  # “I saw him on the ground once the music stopped because it stopped kind of abruptly because everyone was confused and you kind of look over to the DJ’s wall and he’s on the floor and you see blood on his ankle or his foot is in a weird twisty direction,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.  # “I don’t like blood, so I was gagging and trying to run away but my friends were there, and they were looking at it and we all thought his foot snapped. We didn’t really get close enough to see like his foot was off of his body.”  # “And so, they kicked us all out. They told us all to leave and as I was leaving, three police officers were coming inside and from there I got the video and I saw what happened and it was something else. It was wild.”  # The woman said nothing was suspicious to suggest that a fight or a shooting occurred.   # “That’s the part where we have no idea,” she said,  “It looks like he was shot or someone sawed his foot off, but I don’t know anything for a fact and we didn’t hear anything that sounded like a gunshot.”  # “It was just strange.”  # Atlantis representatives declined to comment. # Police officials also offered no comment up to press time yesterday. 

A video sent to The Tribune showed a man in distress on the club’s floor as a woman carefully held his foot in her hand, trying to prevent an even worse injury.

An eyewitness recalled hearing a woman screaming for help before seeing a man on the ground with blood all around his ankle area. 

“I saw him on the ground once the music stopped because it stopped kind of abruptly because everyone was confused and you kind of look over to the DJ’s wall and he’s on the floor and you see blood on his ankle or his foot is in a weird twisty direction,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. 

“I don’t like blood, so I was gagging and trying to run away but my friends were there, and they were looking at it and we all thought his foot snapped. We didn’t really get close enough to see like his foot was off of his body.” 

“And so, they kicked us all out. They told us all to leave and as I was leaving, three police officers were coming inside and from there I got the video and I saw what happened and it was something else. It was wild.” 

The woman said nothing was suspicious to suggest that a fight or a shooting occurred.  

“That’s the part where we have no idea,” she said,  “It looks like he was shot or someone sawed his foot off, but I don’t know anything for a fact and we didn’t hear anything that sounded like a gunshot.” 

“It was just strange.” 

Atlantis representatives declined to comment.

Police officials also offered no comment up to press time yesterday.