The Belize Coast Guard has confirmed that a civilian vessel which is registered in Delaware, USA was grounded on the barrier reef in the area of Hatchet Caye located east-northeast of Placencia. Onboard the vessel were three (3) Colombians, four (4) Guatemalans and one (1) American citizen. The incident reportedly took place on the Belize Barrier Reef around 5:00p.m. on Saturday, September 3, 2016, and was relayed to the Coast Guard by the Fisheries Department.
The Government of Belize through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed with Guatemalan Authorities that the vessel left the Port of Livingston, Guatemala bound for Big Creek, Belize sometime after 10:30a.m. on Friday, September 2.
The Belize Coast Guard has secured the area and a task force comprising of the Department of Environment, Immigration and the Belize Port Authority deploys today, Monday, September 5 to further examine the scene and determine what further actions will be taken.
