Businessman Arnold Jogie was playing in the water with his baby girl when a jet ski crashed into them at Pigeon Point Heritage Park in Tobago on Wednesday evening.
Both father and daughter were unconscious when lifeguards carried them to the shore, where relatives and bystanders had gathered to assist.
An eyewitness told the Express that lifeguards began to administer CPR on Jogie and seven-year-old Angelica Saydee.
“I saw the lifeguards had to pull him out of the water and rest him on sand. He regained consciousness. He had ingested some water after the jet ski hit him. He regained consciousness and started to vomit,” the Express was told.
But as soon as he regained consciousness, the eyewitness said, Jogie ran over to his little girl, dropped at her side and attempted to help.
“That is my child,” he screamed as a medical doctor who was vacationing in Tobago worked on the girl.
“I didn’t see any signs of bruising or any kind of damage to him and I know he went across and tried to attend to his daughter. But he couldn’t do anything because lifeguards and other personnel were trying to assist the daughter,” the Express was told.
The Express was told that Jogie was taken to hospital and his injuries we so severe that he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit, where he is still being treated.
Relatives said today that while his blood pressure remained high, he was asking to be discharged so that he could help console his wife and daughter, and bring his deceased daughter back to Trinidad.
The Jogies of Barrackpore had started a family tradition to travel to Tobago during the Easter vacation, and this was not the first time the family had visited Pigeon Point, relatives said.
Businessman Terrence Ramkellawan said he was spending the afternoon at the beach with his family when he witnessed the tragedy.
He said, “At approximately 4:15 PM, while preparing to leave after purchasing refreshments, we witnessed a HORRIFIC incident. A jet ski operator crossed the designated safety barrier and collided with a family bathing within the barrier.”
Ramkellawan said he watched in horror as lifeguards and other first responders desperately tried to safe the child.
“Lifeguards responded promptly and made commendable efforts to retrieve the injured individuals, including a 7-year-old child and her father, from the water. However, upon bringing them ashore, it became evident that the situation quickly escalated into panic and confusion. There appeared to be a lack of adequate emergency preparedness,” he said.
And he called on the Tobago House of Assembly to address the issue immediately.
Ramkellawan also called for restrictions on the use of watercraft near bathing areas at public beaches in Tobago.
