Georgetown, Guyana – A post-mortem examination is scheduled to be conducted on the recovered body of 38-year-old Thomas Carstens Jr, an American tourist who went missing after the boat he was travelling in capsized on the Essequibo River last week.
According to a report from the Guyana Police Force, Carstens along with other foreign nationals arrived at Apoteri Village, North Rupununi via a private chartered aircraft for a seven-day fishing expedition on November 18.
On November 22, Carstens along with the boat captain/tour guide and another traveller headed upstream on the Essequibo River in an aluminum boat.
About 1 hour and 30 minutes in the river upstream they were going through rapids when the outboard engine encountered a mechanical problem which caused the boat to drift down the rapids.
It’s reported that Carstens jumped into the water where he held onto the side of the boat.
The boat eventually sank and he went underwater and did not resurface.
The following day, a search party went up the river where two surviving men were found on the island and they related what transpired to the search team. The matter was reported to the Police.
The search party eventually found Carstens’ body in an early stage of decomposition, removed it from the water and placed into a boat where it was examined for marks of violence, but none were found.
His body was taken to a health centre where the post-mortem examination will take place. (CMC)