“Pressure boy,” a fisherman exclaimed as he jumped off a pirogue that he spent hours in the Gulf of Paria searching for 19-year-old Joshua Henry, who disappeared at sea on Saturday.The unsuccessful trip brought tears to Henry’s mother Natoya Knights, who waited at the fishing site next to the Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) factory along the Southern Main Road in Claxton Bay.
However, Knights declined to speak to the media until she got her son back.
A report stated that around noon Saturday, Henry, of Battoo Avenue, Marabella and three other men were aboard a fishing pirogue near the TCL jetty when the engine stalled. Police said the teen jumped overboard and attempted to swim to the shore to fetch a rope to tow the vessel. However, he soon began struggling and went underwater.
Fishermen and fish vendors got into the water and tried to find him but they could not. The T&T Coast Guard joined the search but up to yesterday Henry remained missing.
A fisherman said they were approximately 200 feet from the shore and while the captain was trying to restart the engine, Henry began swimming to shore. He said Henry was standing in the boat just prior to this and the captain suddenly heard something in the water moments later.
The fisherman said when he realised Henry was struggling, he swam towards him and tried to push him to the surface. When the fisherman resurfaced, he could not find Henry.
At the fishing site yesterday, fishermen told Guardian Media that the area is deep to allow large ships to access the factory. They said the currents were strong yesterday.
Relatives said Henry was expected to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination next year.
