Hiker rescued in Chaguaramas

A 63-year-old hiker was rescued in Chaguaramas on Monday morning.

Primnath Gokool, of Freeport, hiked with his family to the Bamboo Cathedral in Tucker Valley before some members broke off to visit the nearby site of the 1975 crash of a small plane.

When the family separated Gokool decided to hike further on his own. When the rest of the family returned from the crash site, Gokool was nowhere to be found. The family continued searching for him along the trail until dark.

They informed the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) police. A combined team of fire officers, army personnel, and the Hunters Search and Rescue team was led by Capt Vallence Rambharat and Commander Shamsudeen Ayube.

The team searched the Samaan Park trail using a call-and-response technique.

Rambharat said, "Every 500 feet we would do a call and wait for a response. We were not hearing Gokool, but when we found him he said he was hearing us and used that to navigate himself toward the sound."

Rambharat said the hiker was rescued with no reported injuries and was in good spirits.

General manager of the CDA Karen Clark-Rowley said the authority is waiting on clearance from the Government to resume guided tours. She said, "In the meantime hikers continue to go at their own risk, and this is the result."