Venezuelan media says two men rescued after shipwreck

A MEDIA outlet in Venezuela has reported that two more men have been rescued at sea after the shipwreck of a vessel which left Trinidad last week.

The two were rescued by members of the indigenous Warao tribe which lives in the coastal region.

Media house El Periódico del Delta, from Tucupita, reported that a total of four people have been rescued so far, including a Trinidadian man.

Luis Gómez and Eric Rosario, El Periódico said, were seen floating at sea holding on to a large plastic container. Both men had been drifting in the sea for several days.

El Periódico del Delta said Gómez and Rosario had been drifting for several days waiting for help. The two said they left Trinidad in a boat on September 29 with 17 people on board. Of the 17 people mentioned by the two survivors, 13 are still missing, which means at least two bodies would have been recovered.

“The victims have burns from the sun and gasoline," said the newspaper. It added that Gómez is from Barrancas, Monagas state and Rosario is from Carúpano, Sucre state.

So far the Venezuelan authorities have not issued a statement on the rescue. Gómez and Rosario are in the care of Venezuelan security forces while investigations continue.

The TT Coast Guard, in a release on Sunday, said that a vessel had left Trinidad on October 1 with 25 people on board. That boat is believed to have sunk in Venezuelan waters with – as of Sunday – one person being rescued, four bodies recovered and 20 still unaccounted for at sea. This boat was headed for the Delta region of Venezuela.

Three Trinis – Zaid "Johnny" Aladdin, Vijayand Toophanie and Rishi Seelochan – have been reported missing by their loved ones amid rumours that they either met up to go on a fishing expedition or were among the 25 people on board the vessel which left Trinidad on October 01 for Venezuela. Up to press time, their whereabouts remain unknown.