Venezuelan governor mourns victims of shipwreck off Trinidad

Lizeta Hernández, governor of Delta Amacuro state, Venezuela, said on Thursday in local media she regrets the sinking of a boat with 17 people on board last week between TT and Venezuela.

El Periódico del Delta reported that on her website Hernández had confirmed the shipwreck, but she did not give details of the deceased, survivors, missing or the search.

Hernández "acknowledged the event did exist, although without saying so, but she regretted the facts and blamed those who – for her – are the cause of the country being subjected to international sanctions."

The newspaper said in her opinion, "People are forced to flee the country to try to have better living conditions, which are difficult to achieve in Venezuela due to the economic blockade requested by some opposition sectors,"

Hernández sent a message of encouragement and solidarity to the families of the victims of the shipwreck, which occurred, according to the four survivors, on the night of September 29.

So far, four men, one of whom is a Trinidadian, have been rescued at sea, two by Guyanese fishermen and two by indigenous Warao fishermen.

They said they left Moruga on a small boat.