A 28-year-old gold miner drowned after the boat he was operating collided with another vessel in a canal at Kabakaburi Mission, an Arawak community along the Upper Pomeroon River.
The dead man was identified by relatives as Rob Jacobus.
A relative said Jacobus was operating a 15-horsepower boat through the canal when he approached a blind turn and collided with another 15-horsepower vessel. The operator of the other boat escaped without injury, but Jacobus was struck during the collision and fell into the water, the relative said. He did not resurface.
Persons at the scene dived into the canal in an attempt to locate him, without success, before using hooks attached to long lines to search for his body, which was eventually recovered.
The relative said the canal was recently excavated and is particularly deep, which complicated the recovery effort.
The boat Jacobus was operating was also recovered.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision and drowning.
