Two more Venezuelan survivors from the Delta Amacuro boatwreck have been rescued from the high seas, while a body, believed to be that of a shipwrecked passenger, resurfaced at Fullerton Beach, Cedros, yesterday.
The bloated corpse of a Venezuelan male washed ashore before midday. The man has not yet been identified but Cedros police said they will liaise with the Venezuelan authorities to identify him.
The boatload of over 25 migrants had been bound for Trinidad but while attempting to cross the strait of the sea known as Boca de Serpiente, a strip of water that separates Venezuela from Trinidad, their boat capsized throwing everyone into the sea. A total of four bodies have been found so far—two men, a woman and a child.
Venezuela’s Tanetanae Delta’s Facebook page listed the names of the seven survivors.
Commissioner Noel Valderrama, Secretary of Citizen Security of the Delta Amacuro state, was quoted as saying, “So far, there are seven survivors, they were evaluated by medical personnel and they are in good health, we are verifying their identities and then returning them to their homes. It is a normal procedure that does not imply any commitment for them, it is what is done in these cases.”
He also issued a warning to Venezuelans not to take the risk to travel illegally to Trinidad.
“You should not travel illegally, there is no guarantee of reaching your intended destination, nor is there anyone to ensure your safety and protect you,” he said.
The report revealed that one of the survivors had been wearing a life jacket and had held on to another shipwrecked man, saving both their lives.
“If despite the risk they run, the high sums they pay for leaving and the illegality of the trip, they decide to do so, they must take care of themselves, it is incredible that they pay so much money and not even have a lifeguard, it is almost a suicide,” Valderrama said in the publication.
However, Venezuelan nationals were incensed by Valderama’s comments.
Monica Birabal de Benitez said the people who were shipwrecked had been searching for a better life.
“What do you think? Who risk their lives for the love of art? They leave without thinking because of the “rulers” scoundrels, who in the end are not even thinking about the garbage of the country that they are leaving to their children and grandchildren,” she wrote.