Two days after a San Fernando man went missing after diving off a boat in the Gulf of Paria his body was picked up by the Coast Guard a mile off the La Brea jetty. Deodath Goolcharan, of Retrench Village, San Fernando, was last seen alive when he dived off a friend’s wooden boat on Monday. It was the same friend, Om Roopchan, who, along with other neighbours, found his body after setting off on their own search early yesterday morning.
Speaking to the T&T Guardian by phone yesterday, Goolcharan’s sister, Rita, said the family felt a sense of relief her brother’s body was found and they no longer had to wonder what happened to him. She said the family got a call from Roopchan around 10.30 am to say her brother’s body had been spotted in Oropouche. She added: “Apparently the undercurrent carried his body down to La Brea. The same guy he went out with that day (Monday), helped to find him.” She said after Roopchan contacted them, the family called the Coast Guard and police. “The Coast Guard went down there and took the body out the water around 1.30 pm,” said Rita.
However, she said their worry has shifted to the health of her 78-year-old mother who had not been told at first that her only son was missing because the family feared for her health. “She ended up finding out he was missing and she was not eating or anything,” said Rita. “My sister carry her to the doctor this morning and he said her pressure and sugar so low she could go into a coma.”
She is urging seagoers to be more cautious when venturing out, especially during bad weather. “Whoever going out to sea, be extremely careful. Get yourself lifejackets and look at the weather before doing those activities,” the grieving sister said. “The sea was still rough after the bad weather on Sunday. They could have taken more precaution but I wasn’t there so I can’t judge anybody,” she said. She said tentative funeral arrangements are being made for tomorrow.
