A beach outing among relatives turned deadly yesterday (Sunday) when one of the men in the group allegedly drowned after ‘mooring’ the wooden vessel that the large group had used to travel to Hamburg Beach, Essequibo River.
The deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Umal Jaggernauth of Spring Garden, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
The young man is said to have drowned around 12:30h moments after his immediate family and their relatives (a total of 26 persons inclusive of Jaggernauth) arrived at the location for their outing.
Reports are that around 11:30h on Sunday, Jaggernauth left his residence with his 25 relatives in a wooden vessel en route to Hamburg Beach.
On arrival there, Jaggernauth and one of his uncles remained on the boat to “moor” it while the others went ashore.
According to the police, after the duo had finished “mooring the boat” Jaggernauth and his uncle began to swim to the shoreline, however, only the older man made it safely.
When Jaggernauth’s uncle realized that his nephew had not made it out of the water and could not be seen anywhere in sight, he immediately raised an alarm and other family members went in search for the missing 25-year-old.
However, they were unable to locate his body and eventually notified the relevant authorities about the situation.
Jaggernauth’s body is yet to be found while investigations into the alleged drowning are in progress.
