Relatives fear the worst 

UPDATE:

Relatives and friends of fisherman Neil Ramkhelawansingh spent hours searching for any sign of him in the Gulf of Paria yesterday after he fell off a fishing boat.
Speaking to Newsday at the Oteheite Fishing Depot where yesterday, Neil’s brother Nash said Neil could not swim.

Neil, 39, went out to fish as part of a two-man crew around 5am on Monday with a trawler from the Otaheite Fishing Depot. When the crew were returning around 9am, he said rough seas made Neil fall overboard close to the Godineau bridge.

Nash said his family is fearing the worst, as several crews and Coast Guard officers could not find Neil. At 5pm yesterday, Nash said, the searches had been called off for the day and would resume early this morning.

“He went out with a next fella to trawl, and when they were coming back by the (Mosquito) Creek, the other guy said Neil fell off the boat,” Nash said. “He could not swim, he used to joke and tell all them fellas on the port here he is the only fisherman who can’t swim.” Nash said his family have been fisherfolk for decades.

Neil was the oldest of four brothers. “We fishing our whole lives. Some went in the sea straight from school, some never even went to school, just straight to the sea. This is the life we know. But we never lose anybody in the family to drowning.” Groups of friends and relatives gathered at the depot yesterday, waiting for any news. But as the boats came back in one after another with no news of Neil, Nash said his family may have to face the hardest news of all.

“Right now is like we are waiting for them to say they find a body...I don’t know how he could have survived all that time out there. We don’t know how far down he would have been carried by the currents, because the sea rough.”

Nash, 33, had also been fishing when he heard the news. As he waited for word yesterday, his fellow fishermen weighed out his catch and sold it on his behalf.
“Right now the only thing on my mind is where he is. I just want them to find him soon.”
The fisherman who was with Neil when he fell overboard made a report to the San Fernando police yesterday.

ORIGINAL POST:

Relatives and friends of fisherman Neil Ramkhelawansingh are searching the Gulf of Paria for him after he fell off a fishing boat around 9am today.

His brother Nash said 39-year-old Neil cannot swim.

Although Neil has been a fisherman for most of his life, Nash said, he would often joke and tell friends he is the only fisherman who can’t swim.

Nash told Newsday Neil went out to fish as part of a two-man crew around 5am with a trawler from the Otaheite Fishing Depot. When the crew were returning around 9am, he said rough seas made Neil fall overboard close to the Godineau bridge.

Since then, four boats with fishing crews and relatives have been searching for him.

A grim Nash said he was preparing for the worst.

“It has been four hours already and there is no sight of him at all, We don’t think he is alive at this point. although we are still holding on to a little hope.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.