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That's why he was called up from the final reserve list after very many applicants had failed. And he completed the swim test, but, then, something unexpected happened. The Vice commander of the Coast Guard told us more:...

Capt. Elton Bennett- Vice-Cmdt, Belize Coast Guard
"The first activity is the swimming in which the candidates are required to swim 200 yards after threading water for two minutes and then exit the sea. It was at this point where the applicant Brigel Teck fell as a casualty after completing the swim. He was walking from the finish point towards the ladder and whilst exiting on the ladder he appeared to be faint. Two of the safety supervisors grabbed a hold of him and walked him over to the ambulance where he was handed over to a medic. The medic immediately did his assessment on Mr. Teck and realized that there was no pulse at that time. Mr. Teck was then placed into the ambulance, CPR was conducted immediately and all the way from there unto the KHMH where unfortunately he was pronounced dead on arrival."

Jules Vasquez- Reporter
"Did he know how to swim? was there undue exertion? How many other persons successfully completed or have completed this in then past?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"On that day itself we lost about 40% of the candidates on the swimming exam alone."

Jules Vasquez
"You mean you lost in terms of they could not fulfill that requirement?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"That they could not complete the swimming. Mr. Teck completed the swim. He thread his water for two minutes, he swam his 200 yards and he reached the finish point on his own. He was walking and one of the safety supervisors who was nearby claimed to have heard him say that he had a cramp. So, he was walking and he was talking. And then on the ladder he seemed to have faint or collapse."

Reporter
"I heard that this man was in his 30's and the Coast Guard has an age limit for applicants."

Capt. Elton Bennett
"He is 31 years. What happened is that the firs few syndicates that went, we were losing people too quickly. For example the first indicate that had 30 applicants, by the time that syndicate was finished with the swim and the run, it was down to 2. So, we realized that the attrition rate was too high and we then called in people who were outside the barrier. We had about 300 people waiting outside the barrier to be called and Mr. Brigel Teck was in one of those last syndicates."

Jules Vasquez
"All persons have to be medically screened, I saw that in a statement. Was there something missed in the medical screening? Why was he not flagged for any sort of abnormality or health deficiency?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"Yes, we do medical screening on D-day of the recruiting drive. But this is the third or fourth activity of the day. The swimming is the first. So, you need to be able to swim first. What we put out is to be able to know how to swim and he swum okay. The medical screening would come after that. So, he did not reach that point where the first medical screening would be done. And then there is a secondary medical screening if you make it to that point. That includes a more detailed test. That includes ex-ray and blood test. But we cannot do those detailed medical tests on all 360 candidates that show up."

Jules Vasquez
"So, is this a failure in the screening process? One that cost this gentleman his life and will the procedure be change going forward?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"At this stage, no. We are doing an internal assessment of our structure and the way we conduct a recruiting drive. But for now, no. We don't think that there was anything wrong with doing the swimming first. The purpose of that swimming is to screen candidates who can swim. That is the first requirement. Then after that you go through the medical screening. As I mentioned, he swam and passed the test."

Jules Vasquez
"But obviously he was unfit to exert himself in that fashion."

Capt. Elton Bennett
"We don't know exactly what the cause of his death is. The autopsy is scheduled for today and then we will know for sure exactly what went wrong."

Reporter
"Are applicants still required beforehand to say if they have any preexisting medical conditions?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"At this stage, our notice for applicants requires you to be medically fit. So, the initial advertisement that goes out from the Coast Guard requires you to be medically fit and physically fit. You receive that and then you say that you are and then you show up and we do the screening."

Reporter
"So, as far as Coast Guard authorities know, this man had no preexisting condition?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"As far as we know, no preexisting condition. We spoke to the family as well and there is no indication of any preexisting condition."

Jules Vasquez
"What did you all say to his family in terms of...it is interesting because he is not fully your responsibility since he is not a Coast Guard man at that time but he is, I imagine you all have some duty of care at that point, what did you, or whoever was responsible, say to his family?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"It was very tough Jules to report to the family that your loved one passed away during the Coast Guard recruiting drive. So, that was a very tough thing to do, to report to the family, his mother and his common law wife of what occurred. But the Coast Guard is responsible enough and we are supporting the family with the funeral arrangements and we will be providing other support to the family and his next of kin."