PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago said search and rescue operations were being conducted on Monday for several people who went missing after a boating accident.
Crews spent most of Monday searching for at least five people who were reported missing after the collision, according to the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, a local nongovernmental organization that assisted authorities with the search.
The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard said two boats collided on Sunday evening in waters off the northwestern peninsula of Trinidad, the larger of the two main islands that make up the twin-island Caribbean nation.
“Preliminary reports indicate that several persons remain unaccounted for as search efforts continue,” the coast guard said in a statement on Monday.
As the two vessels collided, one vessel pitched into the air, throwing its occupants into the water, according to eyewitness Jonathan Salandy, a boat captain with local tour company Pontoon Tours TT.
“I saw people just in the water all over,” Salandy said in a video statement.
Salandy said he and his crew raced toward the scene and began rescuing survivors under the cover of darkness. He said they threw life jackets out to the crash victims and pulled some of the victims on to the tour boat.
“One guy had a serious laceration to his head and a lot of blood,” Salandy said.
The coast guard confirmed that some of the people who were rescued were taken to local hospitals to be treated for injuries. However, officials did not immediately say how many people suffered injuries.
Relatives and friends of those missing gathered along the coastline at a nearby beach in the town of Chaguaramas, on Trinidad’s northwestern tip, on Monday. They spent hours praying as they awaited updates from authorities.
A chain of smaller islands is located just off Trinidad’s northwestern peninsula. Those smaller islands, which are part of Trinidad and Tobago’s territory, are popular for weekend getaways and events. Small boats are used to transport people between the mainland and the smaller islands.