The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are looking for 52-year-old Chancelaire Baptiste, who is wanted for questioning in connection with a boating incident in which 11 Haitian nationals died. The incident occurred in North Abaco on Sunday June 10.

DESCRIPTION

HEIGHT: 5’ 10”

HAIR: BALD

BUILD: MEDIUM

COMPLEXION: BROWN

CHANCELAIRE BAPTISTE

AGE: 52 YEARS

SAND BANK, TREASURE CAY, ABACO

Should you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this individual please contact:

MARSH HARBOUR POLICE @ 242-367-2560, 242-367-3437

or

The Haitian vessel that sank off Abaco late Sunday night resulting in the death of 11 of its 28 passengers, said Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade. Twelve passengers are still missing.

Five of the 28 persons on board when the vessel set sail at 5pm from Farmer's Hill near Treasure Cay on Sunday, were five students from Treasure Cay Primary School, who all went down with the boat. Abaco police have now determined that 12 persons are still missing, while five are now in custody.

Mr Greenslade said the captain is responsible for the deaths of the persons authorities believe were a part of an illegal human trafficking operation. "Charges will be brought against the captain," he said. "Anyone that played a role in putting together that ill-fated arrangement - certainly if we can find out who they are - they are going to be charged before the courts."

"The information is still sketchy. You have got to understand that a lot of the persons we are talking to are persons that do not have proper status in the country and so in speaking to us there is that degree of uncertainty in terms of what should be said and shouldn't be said."

"I do not want to be premature because I might speak to a particular charge and then at the end of the day on a court document it may not read as such, except to tell you criminal offences are being committed, charges will be incurred. So we will be diligently trying to find out who the main perpetrators were."

Mr Greenslade noted that the tragedy should not have happened, but, he said, it speaks loudly to the business of human smuggling and the challenges and risks associated with it. "(It is) very unfortunate that children have lost their lives and adults have lost their lives because of that criminal activity."

Superintendent Noelle Curry, in charge of the North Abaco district, said authorities on the island were still searching for those missing.

The search was suspended at sunset on Tuesday after no further survivors from Sunday night were found.

"Since continuing the search and recovery we found nothing new. Our investigations are continuing."

Police say the boat capsized at 9pm on Sunday, after experiencing engine problems, off North Abaco in the area of Hawksbill Cay.

According to sources, as the boat began to take on water, five people immediately jumped from the sinking vessel, swam for hours and followed the light until they got ashore at Treasure Cay.

When they got on land, they separated and police were alerted, nearly 24 hours after the boat had set sail.

In March of this year, 24 illegal immigrants and one Bahamian man were taken to Freeport after being rescued 20 miles off the Florida Coast when their vessel started to sink.

Five children, ranging in age from three to 11 years, were among those rescued by a passing freighter. Everyone in that group survived.