Two days after falling into the water of the Navet Reservoir while on an unauthorised boating expedition, the bloated and decomposing bodies of Anthony Warrick and Basdeo Ramlal resurfaced yesterday.
And in the wake of the tragedy, WASA yesterday announced that it had suspended two workers stationed at the facility as investigations continue into the accident which happened on Saturday.
Ramlal's brother Federlis said they found the bodies just after 6 am, hours after Coast Guard divers and Fire Service Land and Rescue Special Unit officers abandoned their search on Sunday evening.
"When everybody left here, we stayed. We knew that the bodies would come up. We stood here throughout the night and looked. It floated up on its own," Federlis said. The bodies were viewed by District Medical Officer Dr Birja who ordered them removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James.Autopsies were expected to be done yesterday.
Meanwhile Minister of the Environment and Water Resources Ganga Singh said it was against WASA's regulations for employees to use the reservoir for recreational purposes without adequate safety gear."I want to extend sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the two men. It is not the policy of WASA to allow anyone to go for recreational purposes at the reservoirs at Caroni Arena, Navet or Hillsborough in Tobago," Singh said.
"It is a clear breach of policy for people to go off in a frolick in the dam without permission and without safety gear. Those who had safety gear survived," he said.Singh noted that WASA's management will have to reinforce their safety and security policy for all employees so that there will be no repeat of Saturday's tragedy.Noting that there is ample security at the official entrances of the dam, Singh said it was difficult to prevent intrusion through the perimeters of the reservoirs.
"The reservoirs are located on hundreds of acres of land. Navet has five billion gallons of water, Arena Reservoir has nine billion gallons of water and the Hillsborough Reservoir has six billion gallons," Singh said.He called on citizens to respect the rules that apply to the reservoirs.
"They are an asset for us. It is a national resource for us and we have to be careful not to allow any kind of interference that will threaten our water supply," Singh said. He reiterated that WASA's treatment process will ensure that its supply is not contaminated.
Meanwhile, WASA's head of corporate communications Ellen Lewis said it will reinforce protocols with respect to accessibility of the reservoir by the public. She said they were also investigating whether other WASA employees were using the reservoirs for recreation puposes without authorisation..
"There is security at the dam and the management will recognise the breaches and will take the necessary disciplinary action," Lewis said. She also reiterated that samples were taken from the dam and neither the raw nor final water quality haven been compromised at the Navet Reservoir.
Warrick, 55, a WASA auditor and Ramlal, 52, a retired WASA Estate Constable were among a party of 13 who were on an unauthorised boating expedition at the reservoir on Saturday.
The boat which has a maximum capacity of four to six adult occupants was overloaded. Water started to seep into the boat which capsized. Nine of the occupants got out of the vessel without injury while two others– Debra Ocho and Doya Khan– were hospitalised. A search was conducted for two days for Warrick and Ramlal before their bodies were found yesterday.
