Stranded Motorist Rescued from Flood on Coastal Road

A truck driver traveling along the Coastal Highway was caught in a potentially life-threatening predicament when he got stranded on top of his truck in the midst of rushing flood waters.  The truck driver was rescued after misjudging the depth of the water. According to the national emergency coordinator for NEMO, Shelton Defour, the driver was rescued by construction workers who were in the vicinity. He added that it is important for the public to heed the advisories released by NEMO to ensure maximum safety.

Col. Shelton Defour, Coordinator, NEMO: “BDF deployed to confirm if he was rescued we confirmed that he was rescued by the construction company that is working in that area and it seems like he just simply got trapped and miscalculated the volume of water and the speed it was coming up you know? So you know that’s a concern for people driving through floodwaters where you could see you’d end up on top of the truck and luckily the report so far is that he has been rescued and there has been no loss of life so so far you know last flight no major injuries or injuries to anyone and no loss of life. We have a responsibility to keep the public informed and to advise them accordingly It is the individual or individuals who have to heed to that advice and not take the risk and believe that they could take the chance of going through floodwaters either walking through it or driving through it you know because you are putting your life and your equipment at risk. We saw in other countries in Trinidad recently a lady from this very same system tried to cross a ditch and got swept away and I don’t think they have recovered their body as yet so it’s very serious you know and it puts the search and rescue team at risk because they have to go out sometimes at night and they have families as well and so when people are not taking the advisories serious it has a severe impact on our decision making that we have to make do we take the chance or not so we implore the Belizean people, the public to take the advisories do not play in floodwaters.”