A Mayaro family is now clinging to hope that their patriarch, Herralal “Lenus” Cooblal, and his fellow fishermen will return home alive, after a search crew found his vessel abandoned at sea yesterday.
Cooblal, 54, a father of three of Grand Lagoon, Mayaro, left the Guayaguayare Fishing Depot around 2 pm last Tuesday aboard his mother boat Benom 2. Accompanying Cooblal were Rishi Kimchan, 38, of Grand Lagoon, Andy George and another known only by his alias, Tall Man, who lived around the area.
T&T Coast Guard, Air Guard, Mayaro and Cedros police, Guayaguayare fisherfolk and the Hunters Search and Rescue (HSR) combed the shore and sea to locate the men up to yesterday evening but without luck.
HSR Captain Vallence Rambharat confirmed that a crew had found the boat capsized in one of Heritage Petroleum Ltd’s offshore fields in South West Trinidad. There were no crew members in sight.
Search crews identified the boat by its registration number, TFN 5906. The 250-HP outboard engine was intact.
“The search continues for the missing fishermen. We know they are strong swimmers. We know they are very experienced, and it is just a matter of searching the seashores, the South coast and maybe into the territorial waters of Venezuela to see if they are drifting in the waters,” Rambharat said.
Cooblal’s daughter told Guardian Media that her father was a fisherman for over 15 years but took a hiatus and picked up gardening.
Cooblal returned to the fishing business two weeks ago, and last Tuesday was his first launch of the boat.
Anita said her father packed stock for four days of fishing off the coast of Guayaguayare. But when they did not return on Friday afternoon, Cooblal’s family reported them missing to Mayaro police.
Anita said the police contacted the Coast Guard. The family later saw a helicopter searching the sea off Grand Lagoon.
“We think that the engine probably gave up. Gas probably finished, or something happened, and they remained drifting. We really did not have an idea, so we thought that eventually, they would come back home,” Anita said.
With news that a crew located the boat in South West Trinidad, Anita said the family did not know what was going on but did not believe there was a pirate attack.
“We do not know what caused the boat to sink, but there were some high winds. We hope to find them and bring them back home alive.”
Rambharat agreed that a pirate attack was unlikely, as the engine was still attached. He said a crew towed the vessel to a Heritage facility around noon. Search teams speculated that the boat ran out of fuel and left the men drifting, and rough seas caused it to flip. He said the fishermen headed to an area called the Mang, off Venezuela’s northern coast. He believes the fishermen are somewhere in the Columbus Channel.
“It is an area that is a rich fishing ground for the fisherfolk of Guayaguayare, Moruga and Morne Diablo. It is some distance away. It is around 60-80 miles away, so the issue is what really happened. Did they run out of fuel on their way back or encounter engine problems?”
Mayaro MP Rushton Paray expressed sadness at the fishermen’s disappearance. Paray called on all private fishing vessels in the area to assist in the search by contacting HSR.
A media release yesterday stated: “MP Paray continues to offer his prayers for the safe return of the four fishermen. The MP is confident that the combined efforts of the relevant authorities and the fishing community will result in a positive outcome.”
