On last week Friday's newscast, we told you about the search at sea for 28 year-old Lionel Velasquez. Last Wednesday night, the Corozal resident went overboard a vessel belonging to the Turneffe Island Resort, the company he works for.
As we reported, he and other co-workers were aboard the Eagle Ray, when he fell into the open waters of the shipping channel. The Coast Guard and the employees of the resort searched for most of Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday.
It wasn't until Saturday that the Coast Guard found his body floating in the waters between Middle Long Caye and Alligator Caye. It's the tragic end that his friends, family and co-workers were hoping to avoid, and today, police shared what details they have:
Wilfredo Ferrufino - Inspector, CIB
"Mr. Jose Miranda, manager of Turneffe Island Resort, reported that on the 18th of April 2018, a vessel which was traveling from Belize City to Turneffe Island Resort with workers and upon reaching somewhere 6 miles in front of English Caye, one of the workers fell off the vessel and efforts were made to try to locate him. However they were fruitless. Assistance were sorted out by the Coast Guard in the search. However, he was not located. On the 21st that will be Saturday around 3 pm. The Coast Guard discovered a body of a male person somewhere around middle of Alligator Caye, a body was retrieved post-mortem was conducted. It was identified to be that of Leonel Velasquez a 30-year-old mechanic of Paraiso Village and a worker of Turneffe Island Resort. There were no visible injuries to him, a post-mortem concluded that he died from asphyxia due to inhalation of fluid consisted with drowning."
Reporter
"The resort has released a statement saying that this was an accident that the gentleman fell overboard well beyond anybody being able to come to his aid. Have police investigated to verify that indeed their version of events is indeed accurate?"
Wilfredo Ferrufino - Inspector, CIB
"We have obtained several statements from persons who witness the incident and all indications from those statements that indeed may have been an accident, he genuinely fell over. He lost footing on the edge of the boat and I think he was trying to grasp on to the canopy of the boat and he lost footing and griping of that vessel and he fell over."
Last week's press release from the Turneffe Island Resort said that Velasquez was a member of their mechanical engineering team.
They assisted the Coast Guard in the search with 2 of their company vessel, and a helicopter with full search and rescue personnel.
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