AN annual Easter outing ended in tragedy late yesterday evening when a boat carrying more than 20 members of a family capsized and sank at Bushy Cay on Jamaica’s south coast, killing two persons.

Police identified the dead persons as David Richards and Kerine Noyan, who they said were among 24 persons pulled from the sea.

Some of the survivors, among them six children, were rushed to the Kingston Public and the Bustamante Children’s hospitals. Their conditions were unknown up to press time.

Tanya Noyan, one of the survivors of the ordeal, said the incident unfolded when the family attempted to leave Bushy Cay — which is off the coast of Hellshire beach — to a nearby cay in search of a suitable place to swim.

“We could not swim on Bushy Cay because there were a lot of sea eggs, so that’s when we decided to go over on the other island where the water was better,” she said, gripping her two shocked infants as she recalled the incident outside the accident and emergency department at the Kingston Public Hospital.

About half-way into the journey, however, the 28-foot boat started to take in water, she related. It then capsized under the weight of the panicking group and sank.

“I was not wearing any life jacket, but it was just the mercy of God that kept me alive,” Noyan said, adding that she remembered holding on to her screaming children and some other relatives, who she said were wearing life jackets.

“It (water) come in and start to cover the top part of the boat. I realised it but I just did not want to think that the boat was really sinking,” she added.

“We were in the water for about half-an-hour and we started talking, trying to group everyone together. Some persons were holding on to the babies, some persons were just panicking” she said, grimacing as she recalled the ordeal.

She said a fisherman saw what was happening and went to their aid.

Noyan speculated that it was the fisherman who alerted the Marine Police.

Last night, the police, who said they got the distress call at approximately 6:00 pm, told the Sunday Observer that they were still searching for survivors.

Acting Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, who visited the Marine Police Division, said he was satisfied with the police’s response to the incident.

“I came by to see if we had enough capabilities to provide the kind of rescue and support service for those who were rescued at sea, to assure myself that the investigations were going well and so far we are satisfied with the response,” he said.

Karl Angell, communication director for the constabulary, expressed concern at the number of persons travelling in the vessel at the time of the incident, and the number of them who were not wearing life vests.

“We would just like to say to the public that anyone who plans to go out on sea excursions should ensure that they take along the proper safety equipment as well as the proper safety gear,” said Angell.

News of the tragedy spread like wildfire in Seivwright Gardens (formerly Cockburn Pen), the community in which the Noyan family lives on Goffe Terrace.

The community is home to a number of fishermen.