7 News Belize

Three Drown Over Easter Weekend
posted (April 10, 2012)
And three persons died in drownings over the long Easter weekend.

One of them happened off St. George's Caye, another in Ladyville and one in Placencia. We turn first to the one in Placencia where a fun family getaway proved fatal for Antoine Tillett, also known as "Yenkie". Tillett who is in his early 40's was taking part in a family get-together when he capsized in a dorey. We spoke with his family who told us how he died.

Tamara Richards, Niece of Deceased
"He went out with the kids in one of the kayaks, and he was just out there in the water. I was inside the house when he was out in the water when they figured that he was drowning. They came and got me and I called the police."

Bert Ramos - cousin of Deceased
"Within the space of seconds - he was like 20 feet in front of me. When I lift up my head I didn't see where he disappeared to. All I saw was like he was waving the paddle, but he waved the paddle in a way like - to me he was playing. When I looked back I saw that he didn't come back up. It was then that I figured that something has happened. So I shouted for help to everyone on the shore."

"When we got in the location I told them that this is the area that I saw the bubble because I had lined it up from the house. The diver told me to stay there so he can go down. The first time he went down he came up back and said that the man is down here sitting down. "

Tamara Richards, Niece of Deceased
"I had him in my arms. I was trying to give him mouth-to-mouth. That's something that I got to live with, that at least I tried to help. It was kind of like a hopeless feeling."

Antoine lived in the United States and had two children. Another drowning happened yesterday: A 41 year old man drowned near St. George's caye while fishing with his wife and two friends. Herbert Moore, a Belizean artist and Vista Del Mar resident, was fishing around 2 in the afternoon when one of his friend's fishing lines got snagged on smething in the water.

Moore then put on a diving mask and fins before diving underwater to untangle it. About 3 minutes later, his wife, Mary Unger, saw Herbert moving underwater as if swimming and assumed he had already resurfaced for air. When he did not resurface, she contacted the coast guard for help. They found the body of Herbert Moore almost 2 and a half hours later and transported it to KHMH.

And, a 19 year old drowned in Ladyville on Saturday. Victor Foreman was swimming in Ladyville at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon at the waterfront in Vista Del Mar. they were swimming out in the deep - and his friends say he fell into a hole that was underwater.

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