ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica— Operators of the Black River Safari in St Elizabeth say close to 45 schoolchildren and teachers were safely evacuated from a tour boat after it developed a mechanical issue on Wednesday.

A video showing the retrieval of the tour boat has gone viral on TikTok.

Joseph Ryan Swaby, managing director of Black River Safari Tours, said the 45 students and teachers were a part of a group of close to 100 people on the safari when the incident happened. He said two tour boats responded swiftly after the affected vessel drifted.

“We had a large school group come to the safari. One of our vessels, upon departing the dock, when trying to engage forward gear, it had a mechanical interruption, causing the engine to shut off,” said Swaby.

“The captain immediately tried to deploy the anchor multiple times. However, because of silt conditions at the bottom of the river, the anchor was unable to hold. Immediately, one of our other tour vessels rushed to the aid in securing the vessel and putting it in a stable position against the Black River Bridge, so as to prevent any further drift,” he added.

He said the schoolchildren and their teachers were quickly moved.

“Once both boats were secured, a third boat came to assist and we created a walkway for all students and teachers to depart the vessel safely. I would like to say it is one of the best and strongest evacuations ever that we have done to evacuate nearly 100 students and teachers without any single one as much as getting wet,” he said.

“It was a great effort by the team, it was a great effort by members of the community. The children followed instructions well and everything was done safely,” he added.

When asked about the safety measures in place, Swaby said all were being adhered to.

“Life jackets are standard on all vessels. There are more life jackets than the number of people seated on the vessel,” he said.

“The situation didn’t reach to the point where any of our boats sunk or overturned, it didn’t escalate to think that… everybody was evacuated safely just as how they came onto the boat,” he added.

— Kasey Williams