Trinidad and Tobago: A nine-month-old baby boy was killed as the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard accidentally fired upon the Venezuelan migrant vessel. The coast guard has been trying to explain how this act happened.
The baby was reportedly in his mother’s arm; his mother was also shot. Later, the mother and other migrants were captured after the boat was seized.
The coast guard fired one of the two high-speed 7.3-metre rigid hull inflatable boats to hunt down the boat.
As per the preliminary information, the small baby died before reaching the hospital, and the mother is now in a stable condition has been shifted to the local hospital.
According to the Coast Guard shared statement on Sunday morning, the guard was patrolling across the south coast, the TTS SCARBOROUGH detected a vessel.
While explaining the incident, the T&T coast guard mentioned that they were afraid of losing their lives. As an act of self-defence, they fired the engine of the (migrant) boat because it attempted to ram the vessel.
The authorities further explained that the coast guard tried every possible method to stop the vessel, yet the boat tried to evade TTS Scarborough. “We tried every possible available method – loud hailer, ship’s horn, searchlight and flares, to try to get the suspect vessel to stop, but the vessel did not stop, and in keeping the standard protocols, we were asked to shoot the vessel,” said the Coast Guard.
The coast guard further said that the boat was eventually stopped, and it was found that the boat belonged to the illegal migrants who remained hidden. Later, it was discovered that a young lady was shot, holding a baby who was severely bleeding. The baby and female were rushed to the hospital, followed by the discovery.
The investigation in the matter was demanded by the Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray.
