Story By: Biljana Bozhinovska, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@Perdomoalaba
The Colombian authorities are continuing to search for a US diplomatic staffer believed to have died after falling into the Caribbean Sea when this boat overturned.
According to Colombian Coast Guard, the accident took place on Saturday, when U.S. embassy personnel and other American citizens were on a boat trip in the area known as Peruquitos, Rosario Island, Colombia.
Reports state the boat with 12 people on board, reportedly US Embassy staff and other American citizens, suddenly overturned and the passengers were flung into the Caribbean Sea.
In the video, the boat can be seen floating in the sea upside down as a woman “Emergency, emergency, coast guard, oh my God, there are people in the water, there is an upside-down boat.”
A woman who was sailing on another boat warned the authorities about the overturned vessel and 11 of the passengers were saved almost immediately.
However, the missing passenger was not found and United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then announced that the missing person was a staff member at the US diplomatic mission in Colombia. Pompeo said the missing person is presumed dead and expressed his grief for the “devastating loss”.
Reports state the missing staffer, who has not been named for privacy reasons, was on the boat as a tourist activity and had been temporarily assigned to the US embassy in Bogota, the Colombian capital.
The Colombian Navy is continuing to search for the missing diplomat. The Navy said the most likely cause for the boat overturning was a strong swell which became a large wave what overturned the vessel.
The 11 people rescued were transported to a medical facility and two were then transferred to a Navy Hospital with mild injuries.
Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez expressed his condolences and said the Colombian Navy were working with the Coast Guard to find the missing staffer’s body. The search continues.
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