# Caribbean Vacations Forums > St. Maarten/St. Martin Travel Forum >  >  boat accident

## didier

I heard something thru the grapevine that there was a boat accident between the island of anguilla and st. martin this morning, a few fatalities, and approx 12 survivors. anyone else hear anything?

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## andynap

Home  St. Maarten - St. Martin News  Anguilla Boat Accident leaves Several Dead--- Rescue workers continue to Search for Bodies and Survivors. (UPDATED)
Anguilla Boat Accident leaves Several Dead--- Rescue workers continue to Search for Bodies and Survivors. (UPDATED) 
Monday, 01 July 2013 13:29 SMN NEWS TEAM   .User Rating:  / 5 

PoorBest 
Marigot:--- Rescue operators from the French and Dutch side of the island are busy searching for the bodies of persons that were on a boat travelling between Anguilla and St. Maarten. An agent of the Prefecture of St. Martin said that the boat got into an accident around 01am Monday morning. The agent said that some bodies were found but sea rescue are still busy looking for more bodies and or survivors.
A press release from the Prefecture of St. Martin states that a boat carrying about 20 passengers got into an accident early Monday morning between the islands of Anguilla and St. Martin. Currently the Dutch Coast Guards, Sea Rescue and the Brigade Nautique and the Gendarmerie are coordinating the search and rescue mission.
The helicopter and divers are in the area as they continue with the search and rescue mission and to recover the ill-fated vessel. The press release further states that three persons perished in the accident, 12 survivors are in stable condition at the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital, while missing persons are between six to three persons. Chief of the cabinet of the Prefecture DOLIGEZ Matthieu told SMN News that he could not divulge much information on the accident and the victims because the investigation is still ongoing. Doligez refused to say if the captain of the boat was found and if the boat was involved in human trafficking. The chief of cabinet even refused to release the nationalities of the victims and survivors that were on the boat.
SMN News also asked Doligez if the Dutch police were in contact with them since they are in search of three prisoners that escaped from the prison cells next to the Philipsburg Police Station last Sunday. Doligez said the Dutch police are in contact with the Gendarmerie but so far there is no solid information that they can share with their counterparts. He said as soon as they have more information a second press release will be sent out with additional information.

SMN News further learnt that the ill fated boat is "GOD IS GOOD" and it is registered to someone by the name of Koolange residing on the Dutch side of the island

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## NHDiane

Wow, this sounds like a pretty good mystery...."human trafficking"?  "escaped prisoners"? "six to three still missing"?  I'll be curious to read the followup reports to this. Thanks for posting Andy

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## andynap

Someone posted they knew the captain and the boat was going to St. Thomas.

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## MIke R

*"An agent of the Prefecture of St. Martin said that the boat got into an accident around 01am Monday morning."*

my Dad used to say to me when I came home  in the wee hours of the night  in his cross examination, that "not much good or legal happens after midnight - unless you re at work"....

its the Caribbean...intrigue and mischief is part of their culture.... it will all shake out in the wash


maybe

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## bkeats

Another story from the Daily Herald

*Three persons drown in Anguilla boat accident* _~ Human-smuggling suspected ~_MARIGOT--Three persons drowned and at least three are still missing after an 8-metre long "Saintoise"-type boat with at least twenty people on board sank west of Anguilla Channel, about seven miles from St. Martin, on Sunday night at around 11:30pm.
Twelve persons were rescued and hospitalised, but have since been released. Most of the twelve were plucked out of the water by crew from tug boat "Jamaica" which was in the area at the time. The surviving group was being interrogated and identified at the Gendarmerie in Marigot yesterday.
The Préfecture, in a release late last night, upgraded its information to now three missing persons instead of five, after three more survivors were found and taken to hospital. Rescue details were not mentioned.
The search and rescue operation was coordinated by Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et Sauvetage (CROSS) Antilles-Guiana. French and Dutch-side sea rescue services, Dutch-side coastguard vessel POEMA, the Gendarmerie's Brigade Nautique, a patrol boat from Anguilla, and a helicopter from Sécurité Civile with two divers took part in the rescue effort.
Of the three fatalities, two were women recovered by the Dutch side sea rescue vessel 01,
and the other a man, retrieved by the French side sea rescue service (SNSM). Rescue 01 with three volunteers was called out at 11:42pm and quickly located the stricken vessel, despite the darkness.
SNSM 129 also saved two other men found floundering in the water. "It was a miracle to find them in the dark, in 5ft waves, in shock, but still alive," said coxswain Jean-Claude van Rymennant.
Van Rymenant said he didn't see any of the survivors wearing life jackets. He added the survivors appeared to be from Brazil and the Dominican Republic from the languages they spoke.
Commandant Paul Betaille indicated Monday, the captain of the boat, reportedly a Haitian national, has not been accounted for yet. The Gendarmerie has opened an investigation into involuntary manslaughter and suspects human smuggling. The exact itinerary of the boat was not known.
The boat, which is registered on the Dutch side according to the Gendarmerie, was found partially submerged with about 5ft of bow still sticking out of the water. Divers had checked to see if anyone was trapped below in the boat. The cause of the sinking was not confirmed, but the boat may well have been overloaded and had taken on water.
The Préfecture initially indicated the boat had twenty persons on board, however, SNSM suggested there may have been up to twenty three persons on board.
A release from St. Maarten Sea Rescue Foundation last night said the three bodies were retrieved before the sun came up. After bringing the survivors and bodies ashore to Marigot to be handed over to the Gendarmerie, the search continued at daybreak, but unfortunately yielded no further results.
"The status of the last missing persons is unclear at this moment, but since the area was searched thoroughly by multiple boats, chances of finding more survivors appear to be very slim," the release stated. "The name of the vessel and its homeport are not known at this time, nor is the itinerary of their journey very clear. The survivors and bodies found had no life jackets on. Rescue 01 was back at base in Philipsburg at 9.30 am on July 1."
Searches for the missing persons continued during the day Monday.

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## MIke R

> The cause of the sinking was not confirmed, but the boat may well have been overloaded and had taken on water.



ya think????

20 people on an 8 meter boat in 5 foot seas in open water is pretty much a suicide run

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## BBT

Geeze

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## kent1994

> ya think????
> 
> 20 people on an 8 meter boat in 5 foot seas in open water is pretty much a suicide run



All of this and no life jackets.

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## kent1994

This behavior is not limited to the Caribbean. There was a similar incident last year at this time near Oyster Bay, N.Y.. 27 people were on a 34 foot boat off the coast of Long Island when the boat capsized. Three children lost their lives. The maximum number of passengers for this boat was 15. None of the children were wearing life jackets.

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## MIke R

please..I could write a book....every day I see 8-10 people piled into a 18-20 foot center consol crossing Cape Cod Bay from Boston to here..thats 25 miles of basically open ocean, with depths to 300 feet and wicked currents that come with a 10 foot tidal push 4 times a day....they re nuts..and I would bet, looking at them,  they would have no clue what to do if the s**t hit the fan on one of those crossings

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## JEK

Human traffickers rarely have much regard for their cargo on land or sea.

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## MIke R

true

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## NHDiane

> Human traffickers rarely have much regard for their cargo on land or sea.



Mike - I hope this doesn't mean that Cape Cod Bay is becoming a trafficker's paradise??   :tongue:

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## MIke R

it has always been a trafficker for dumbasses and a**holes if thats what you mean  :tongue: 

boy did we have them this weekend...wow....

6 boats out of 76 mooring line wrapped up in their propeller..one crew so drunk at the fuel dock we had to call the Police and Coasties to make them go away....and on and on and on.

but they re all gone now....:eagerness:..and they left their money behind

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## NHDiane

> but they re all gone now....:eagerness:..and they left their money behind



They're all on I93 going through here!!  What a mess we've got.  Sounds like amateur hour down there...can't you set them straight??!!  :cool:

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## MIke R

> ..can't you set them straight??!!




nope...there is no setting some of these high season people straight...the die is cast

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## NHDiane

> nope...there is no setting some of these high season people straight...the die is cast



Guess it's the same in all resort towns...they know everything!

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## MIke R

yeah Wendi said she had a "challenging weekend" dealing with the  mobs  too....

we re all breathing a sigh of relief tonight....and  drinking heavily....2 down...1 to go

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## NHDiane

Cheers..kick back and enjoy  :Very Drunk:

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