An investigation is underway after the tragic drowning of six-year-old Gabriel Pablo Orellano, a student at Stella Maris School. Earlier today, Gabriel left school and somehow ended up at the hangar near the Belize City municipal airstrip. Sadly, he entered the water and didn’t resurface until his body washed ashore later. In response to this tragedy, Stella Maris School canceled classes for the rest of the day. This afternoon, the Ministry of Education issued a statement expressing their deep sorrow over the loss. They emphasized their commitment to supporting Gabriel’s family during this difficult time and urged the community to keep the family and the Stella Maris School in their thoughts and prayers. We’ll have more information in our subsequent newscast.
This morning, a tragic incident occurred offshore near Saint George’s Caye when an elderly tourist drowned during a marine adventure. Sixty-seven-year-old Rajendran Nair from Florida was snorkeling with a group of tourists when he encountered difficulties just before 10 a.m. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead. His body was brought to Belize City, where a postmortem examination is scheduled.
On Tuesday, we shared the story of Crooked Tree Village residents, who are now relying on boats to get in and out of their flooded village due to Tropical Storm Sara. Folks in Northern, Western, and Rural Central Belize are still wondering when the floodwaters will finally recede. To get a better understanding of the situation, we chatted with Nicole Zetina, the Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management. Here’s what she had to say.
Nicole Zetina
Nicole Zetina, Public Relations Officer, Disaster Risk Management
“I can’t give you an exact time period of when we anticipate water is going down. But I will say that we are in communication with the hydrology unit every day. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening, we get some updates on what we can expect. I think they would be best suited to give you a response for that, but I will say that NEMO is ready and prepared to assist however we can for however long it takes.”
Britney Gordon
“And what has that assistance look like in terms of relief and helping these people in and out of these areas and getting them possible to shelters and stuff like that?”
Nicole Zetina
“Okay, so we are currently doing what we call active operations. So currently, we are traversing persons in Crooked Tree by boats. We are being assisted by the Coast Guard, the BDF and the Forest Department. So we’re traversing persons in and out of Crooked Tree. We’re doing the same, however trucks, BDF trucks that’s for a Flower Bank area, and then we’re providing humanitarian aid, aid assistance, and we call this a quick assistance. So for forty-eight to seventy-two hours, we provide you with your basic necessities, and then we hope to sustain this as the weeks go by, if we see the need for it. And also, we’re providing basic groceries and cleaning supplies. in Belize Rural North and Central. We have stopped operations in Rancho Dolores because the water receded in that area. And when I say operations, I mean traversing of persons in and out because the water receded, but that’s how we’re helping. So we’re helping to get people in and out of their communities and also providing food for them and cleaning supplies and where they need assistance with going to a shelter. We’re also traversing persons to and from shelters as well.”
Tonight, police are looking into the apparent drowning of two individuals in Belize. The first victim, Rafael Vasquez from western Belize, was found on Monday around three p.m. in the Paslow Falls area of Bullet Tree Village. When officers arrived, they found Vasquez’s lifeless body in the river. Initial reports suggest that residents, who were out fishing, discovered him. The second victim, Manuel Choc from San Pedro, was found later that same day around seven p.m. at Central Park on Barrier Reef Drive. Witnesses say Choc, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, mentioned he was going for a swim. Moments later, he was seen floating in the sea. A bystander pulled him out and attempted CPR, but Choc was unresponsive. His body showed no signs of injuries or physical violence. Both bodies are now awaiting post-mortem examinations.
