It was around 7:20 a.m. this Saturday, February 5, that the body of Visham Kumar Bhurtun, a 33-year-old bricklayer, was recovered from the South-East lagoon, from Pointe aux Roches to Vieux Grand-Port. This resident of Grand-Sable, a village in the east of the country, had disappeared at sea in the afternoon of Friday, February 4 at about 1:50 pm while trying to catch a fish floating in the water on board a kayak. The kayak capsized in a heavy swell. “Visham Kumar Burtun was a good swimmer,” said everyone who knew him.
Following a phone call at 2:22 p.m. on Friday, February 4, concerning a case of missing persons at sea in the lagoon of Grand-Sable, elements of the National Coast Guard (NCG) of Deux-Frères went out. This information was confirmed by an 18 year old apprentice mason living in Petit-Sable. He had to confirm the identity of the missing person as Visham Kumar Burtun and resident of Grand Sable.
This young man affirmed to have seen the victim in difficulty in the water and that this one swam in direction of a kayak at a distance of forty meters of the beach of Grand-Sable in a depth of three to four meters. Visham Kumar Burtun, he said, was wearing only gray shorts and did not have a life jacket.
The victim, confided this young man to the elements of the NCG, took the sea on board this kayak with the intention of fishing. He fell into the water when his boat capsized. The day before this tragedy, employees of a marine park were removing fish at this location as they were returning to land. It seems that at least three tanks had fallen into the water. It was because of these fish that several daredevils went out to retrieve them from the water.
The kayak, which was found in Petit-Sable Bay, was seized by the NCG men. The search and rescue operation began at approximately 3:30 p.m. by the men of the Eastern Division Quick Response Team and ended at sunset on Friday, February 4. The police helicopter also flew over the area at sea.
In addition to the NCG, volunteers also participated in the search until 7 pm.
The autopsy performed this Saturday morning at the Victoria Hospital morgue, Candos by Dr. Maxwell Monvoisin, Principal Police Medical Officer, attributed his death to asphyxia due to drowning.
