St Kitts and Nevis: On January 3rd 2023, a flight originating from St Kitts suffered an incident which made an emergency landing in the water at about 11 am off Salt Cay in the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands located in the Atlantic Ocean, after which an intensive and exhaustive rescue operation was conducted to look for the victims and rescued 4 (four) persons around 3:39 pm yesterday.
As per the latest updates, the police force of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands reached the crash site as soon as possible, along with other rescue departments, such as the medical and emergency response teams. The Police Force further updated that four individuals were found alive after the crash and immediately transferred to the nearest health care centre in Royal Turks and Caicos for further treatment and diagnosis.
After the unfortunate incident, the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Michael Francois, issued a statement and deeply thanked the general public of the nearby area for their assistance and help at the site.
In addition, Superintendent Michael Francois said he wants to extend immense gratitude towards the fisherman ‘Kellison Talbot’ who spotted the crash and reached out to the Island’s emergency services and did an exceptional job in helping the people by putting his life on the line.
Additionally, Assistant Superintendent added, “Fisherman Kellison Talbot displayed enormous courage and selflessness by placing humanity above himself”. Moreover, the initial reports conveyed that the RTCIPF (Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Department) acted immediately without delay by marking the site at the beach and setting up a Command Centre.
Following the end, the authorities confirmed that the emergency response teams and services acted rapidly after the crash, including the Department of Disaster Management and Emergency, the Fire Department, and Emergency Services, who all worked tirelessly in the search for the missing individuals.
“The Force also extended its gratitude to the Air Support unit from the Coastguard and Customs and Border Protection” as they helped rescue the passengers as soon as possible. In the end, the St Christopher Air & Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) confirms
three of whom are Nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis and the other from Costa Rica, were rescued by Fishermen.