The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A BOATING incident on Monday near Andros has claimed the life of a civilian and left two off-duty members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) in hospital.

The civilian was identified as 62-year-old Joseph Sands of Little Creek, Andros, by his daughter Anika Sands. She also identified one of the RBDF members as her cousin, Brandon Munroe.

The RBDF revealed on its Facebook page yesterday that the marines were airlifted to New Providence – one was alert while the other was unconscious. The post added that the off-duty marines were on board a private 16-ft speed boat when it apparently hit a reef off Moxey Town, Andros.

“The vessel was badly damaged, and the two marines were rescued by local fishermen, who transported them to the clinic in Mangrove Cay for medical treatment. The other male, a resident of Andros, was found unresponsive near the damaged vessel,” the RBDF reported.

According to a police release, preliminary reports revealed that shortly after midnight yesterday, police on Andros were informed of a boating accident that occurred sometime around 8pm, in the area of Mangrove Cay, Andros.

The release stated: “Three males were out to sea when their 16-ft boat hit a reef. The men were ejected from the vessel and sustained serious injuries. One of the males later succumbed to his injuries and the other two were airlifted to New Providence for medical attention.”

When she spoke to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Sands’ daughter was not sure of her cousin’s prognosis as she was still waiting to hear from him.

She lives in Nassau but got a call from a person in Andros around midnight yesterday about the incident.

“They said there was an accident and I think they were on the scene of the accident. They said one was deceased, one was injured and one was okay. They assumed, I guess they were there, so say they said it was him (her father),” she said.

“I guess I’m still waiting for the call to say it’s not true. It was some sort of sick joke. We’re also still waiting on that call.”

She was not sure what could have caused the accident as her father was a captain so he knew what he was doing. She also said her cousin knew his way around a boat.

“We don’t know,” she said. “We don’t understand but something as a distraction or a minor mistake could cause, you know, major issues.

“We’re still trying to make sense of it because, like I said, he knows what he’s doing.”

She wept over the phone as she described her now deceased father as a “vibrant” jokester who was “always laughing”. She added he was a man who loved his children.