Nine people were rescued by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) on Thursday after the passenger vessel they were traveling in became fully submerged with water in the Gulf of Paria.

According to a statement from the TTCG, its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a report at around 11:10am of a Passenger Vessel named ‘BCSL Endeavor’ taking in water in the Gulf of Paria.

The initial report of the vessel in distress was made by the vessel’s agent, Broadway Surveillance Systems.

The vessel’s last known position was determined and a pilot vessel was dispatched to render assistance whilst the Coast Guard activated one of its capital assets to join the search.

The pilot vessel was able to arrive on-scene to discover that the BCSL Endeavor was already fully submerged in a position approximately two (2) Nautical Miles West of Point Lisas, and all occupants were already on-board life rafts.

The group of men were successfully removed from the BCSL Endeavor and taken to the Coast Guard Headquarters, where they were medically examined and allowed to leave.