7 News Belize

Three Fishermen Missing At Sea, Family's Worries Mount
posted (April 25, 2012)
The families of three Sarteneja fishermen are still clinging to hope as their loved ones are tonight lost at sea.

They are 49 year old Silvero Tepaz, 50 year old Teobaldo Tepaz and 20 year old Mejadi Tepaz. The men left their village sometime last week on a fishing trip and were supposed to make their way to Belize City by Saturday mid-night.

The last anyone heard from the trio was on Friday. On Monday morning the Belize Coast Guard received information on the overdue fishing vessel named Lucerito which was last seen between South Water Caye and Twin Caye.

A search was conducted immediately and the vessel was spotted near the northwestern tip of Glovers Reef. The vessel was submerged and so far none of the fishermen have been found.

7news spoke with the Acting Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard who told us the search efforts will continue but it will become more difficult over time.

Commander Elton Bennett - Acting Commander, Belize Coast Guard
"On Monday the 23rd, we received information of an overdue fishing vessel by the name of Lucerito. The last known location of the vessel was between South Water and Twin Cayes. Immediately after receiving the information, we commenced a joint search effort with the families - the Coast Guard and the Fisheries Department. We commence search on Monday. On Tuesday evening, an aerial search spotted the vessel near the Northwestern tip of Glovers Reef. We immediately deployed to that location, and we noticed a mass projecting from below the surface. The vessel itself was submerged. We conducted a dive at the site yesterday and this morning, and we have not been able to locate anyone in that immediate area. The search effort continues, and it becomes a little more difficult over time. The probability of detection significantly decreases while the search area increases over time. We've received the assistance of the BDF - a defender aircraft - to assist in the search. Currently, we have over 5 vessels along with the BDF aircraft searching in the area. We hope that at some time today, we will be able to come up with something significant. They called in on Friday, and it was expected that they would have reached Belize City by midnight on Saturday. There were 3 persons onboard, all from Sarteneja Village. After we conducted the dive, we noticed that the engine, the drums, and a few other items were missing from the vessel. This could be for several reasons. It could be the water effect on the vessel over time, and of course, as mentioned, we're not ruling out anything. We are investigating from all angles. We have informed the police, and we are taking a very close look at this one."

The search continues tomorrow morning with help from the Belize Defence Force and the Fisheries Department.

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