Student recalls nightmare of being trapped on an island
THE FEELING of being stuck on an island surrounded by a treacherous river, 22-year-old Bertram Talbert said as threatening as the waters were to lives, he felt he had to be strong for his friends.
Talbert was one of seven students who were marooned on a deserted island in Porto Bello in St James last Thursday night.
The movie-like experience, which lasted four hours, came to an end as they were rescued by a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) helicopter and taken to a place of safety to be reunited with their loved ones.
On a bright sunny morning at approximately 10 a.m., the youngster and his friends decided to go swimming and hanging out at the Barnett River, because he would be travelling on Saturday.
“At 2:30 p.m., we noticed the water was picking up speed and once-sunny skies had now become grey, so we decided to get ready and leave. When trying to cross over, we realised one of our friends had difficulties, as the water kept pulling him away. I tried crossing also, but was being pulled as well,” Talbert told The Gleaner.
“The water became higher and it started to rain. The situation was getting worse, so we sought refuge on higher grounds to see if it would improve, but at that point we became stranded,” he recalled.
One student got anxious and made calls at 3 p.m. to the police, who alerted the Freeport Fire Brigade. With the assistance of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), harness and rescue lines were used but because of the turbulence, and the swift and rising waters, several attempts to bring them to safety proved unsuccessful.
Scores of people had to scamper to safety , through mud and muck, as the helicopter propeller which was hovering above forcefully blew down bamboo trees, causing some blockage to a small passage near the river.
Talbert noted that the feeling was uncomfortable when the Herculean-like JDF officer hoisted them to the helicopter.
“It was a bit more embarrassing than relief. We are young adults and with the bright lights and all this attention, it was not an exciting experience, because I know what people would say,” he said.
“It’s common in Jamaican knowledge that you shouldn’t be at a river when rainfall, but the circumstances were not in our favour.”
GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY
During an interview, Angenel Powell, mother of the 22-year-old, told The Gleaner that through God’s grace and mercy, her two children were safe.
“It is not easy standing here, watching and waiting. It gave me a nervous feeling, but now that I know they are on safe grounds, I am really grateful to everyone who put in the effort to rescue them. It’s exciting to know that I can go home to them, hug and talk to them, and tell them to be more careful,” Powell said with relief.
According to Rudolph Seaton, deputy superintendent of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the island was between 35 and 40 feet wide across the river and the water was high and swift.
Eron Samuels, JCF deputy superintendent of operations, in St James, gave advice that everything must be done in moderation, especially with the hurricane season nearby.
“We know that persons coming out of COVID-19 with the lockdown want to have fun, but they have to be cautious and be aware of their surroundings,” Samuels said.
St James has been hit in recent times with heavy rainfall, and so the rivers are prone overflow their banks.
It was only a few weeks ago that 12-yearold Jenell Walters and her 68-year-old grandmother, Beryl Walters, were washed away in the Montego Bay River due to heavy rainfall. The 12-year old’s body was found at the wharf, while her grandmother remains have still not been found.