Life Jackets and Life Ring Saved Five Lives!

Gregory Soberanis

So, there you heard how the five officers were rescued after their vessel capsized. It’s a major tragedy that was averted – and we asked the Acting Commandant how so? Commander Gregory Soberanis tells us that it could have gone terribly wrong, but thanks to an adherence to protocols, the five persons made it out alive with the help of life vests and a life ring after floating at sea for close to three hours.  The vessel wasn’t as fortunate and remains submerged. Here’s more from Soberanis.

Commander Gregory Soberanis, Acting Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“One of the good things that we can speak about today is the issue of life jackets…have a life jacket when you go out to sea. All five service members had on a life jacket and they also had a life ring. They were all holding on to that life ring and that life ring kept them together. I spoke to one of the coast guard men and he said that they spoke to each other to keep each other calm and they also prayed. They prayed and they were asking God to protect them for them to be found. Again, we give God thanks that they were eventually located and that they were wearing their life jackets and they were able to hold on to that life ring and eventually they were found.”

Andrea Polanco

“For something to happen like this, how wrong could this have gone for those officers out there?”

Commander Gregory Soberanis

“Really and truly this could have been a worst case scenario where lives could have been lost. I was in communication with the commissioner being that three of the members were his personnel and I also maintained communication with the Ministry of Defence and Border Security. But this could have turned out a whole lot worst. If the protocols that we have here were not adhered to as it relates to having that life jacket and life ring aboard the vessel. If these things were not present, the situation would have been far worse especially given the sea state and the weather conditions at the time. This is really and truly – this is not something that is frequent in the Coast Guard. So, we were fortunate this time that even though we lost a boat, we didn’t lose lives.”

None of the officers suffered major injuries, but two are hospitalized. PC Amrita Cawich was sent for observation and one coast guard sailor remains hospitalized for the next forty-eight hours as he received fuel burns on his chest.