Captain dies in pirate attack
Dead: Mahadeo Ramdial
Dead: Mahadeo Ramdial

-survivors forced to jump overboard
-swam for two hours

 

A FISHERMAN who has been plying his trade for over 20 years is now dead after pirates attacked the vessel on which he was the captain and forced him and his two crew members to jump overboard Tuesday evening.

Parmanand Nandu was forced to jump overboard

Dead is 44-year-old Mahadeo Ramdial called “Chico” of Lot 146 Kilcoy Squatting Area, East Berbice. The attack took place at approximately18:30hrs in the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Tain Village on the Corentyne. Ramdial’s body was discovered at around 14:00hrs on Wednesday entangled in a seine at the Rose Hall foreshore a few miles from where the fishing vessel was attacked.

Guyana Chronicle understands that Ramdial, Arjune Permaul called “Boyo”, 45, of Kilcoy Squatting area and Parmanand Nandan called “Vickram”, 21 of Tain, left for the sea on Monday aboard the MV Veroni 4. On Tuesday evening, two cutlass wielding pirates attacked them, demanded their catch and took away their 40HP Yamaha outboard engine. The pirates then ordered the fishermen and the captain to jump overboard and after they initially refused to comply, they were beaten with the cutlasses and forced to jump. Police said that the captain received a blow to the head before he jumped.

SWIMMING FOR TWO HOURS
One of the survivors, Arjune Permaul showed this newspaper a wound he sustained during the attack. He said that the captain was hit to the head with a cutlass, which rendered him weak and dizzy.

He said the crew had just finished eating dinner and were in the cabin when they felt a “juck” and then heard a “crashing” sound. It was then they realised pirates had attacked.

Arjune Permaul survived the attack

“Them [pirates] say lose the engine and them cut the seine boat and tell we to jump in them boat, when we jump in them boat them say jump in back abee boat and when we jump back in, them fire one broadside on the captain and cut we boat and them boat gone one side and we boat deh the next side…them had the cutlass on we and seh jump over and say if we nah hear they gon chop off we neck,” Permaul recalled.

He and the other crew member, Nandan swam for more than two hours before they were rescued by another boat, who brought them to shore.

“When them broadside the captain and tell he jump, he say no he can’t swim…them tell he they gon chop out he neck so he jump but before he beg them to give he a jar to hold on to but they didn’t give he …he was saying he cannot make it, so he hold on pon me lil bit and then loose off and he keep saying he not gonna make it, but the water get tough,” the fisherman said.

Permaul, while recalling the ordeal said this is his last time on the sea as a fisherman.

HOPE LOST
Meanwhile, when this newspaper visited the family of Ramdial, his wife and two children were clinging to hope that he is alive, however minutes later, all hope was lost when the family received the dreadful phone call that his body was discovered at the Rose Hall Town Beach entangled in a seine.

The dead man’s grieving wife, Chatranie Jaipersaud and father,
Boodnarine Ramdial

The family broke down in tears, while the father of Ramdial and his younger son hurriedly ventured to Rose Hall Foreshore to get a glimpse of the body. No arrests have been made as police continue their investigations.

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1 thought on “Captain dies in pirate attack”

  1. Question where is the coast guard why aren’t they out there patrolling the area Guyanese taxpayer money it’s just for fun what happened to the boat they bought , buying boat but they can’t do the f****** job the patrol

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