Death never crossed my mind - Fisherman recounts horrific boat fire

When the boat that Mark Collins was travelling in caught fire and exploded at sea on September 13, death never once crossed his mind.

Constantly reminding himself that he had to survive for the sake of his mother and three kids, the 46-year-old man stayed in the water with 27 other fishermen until they were rescued by international coast guard officials the following day.

When THE WEEKEND STAR visited the fisherman at his West Street residence in downtown Kingston, he sat with his family, including his mother Beverly Brown, who was relieved that her son got home safely.

"When me hear the news say me son bun up a sea, me feel like me did a go drop dung. Is when one of the other fisherman reach home and tell me say a him get burn up and me son all right, me feel likkle better. But me never feel at ease until him reach home," Brown said.

The fisherman explained that the group had completed a day of fishing and was returning to shore when the vessel exploded and eventually sunk.

"We had already fish and was coming home. We were trying to beat the hurricane, and I was inside the boat and hear someone bawl out fi fire. We were really far from shore. It's a good thing everyone wasn't sleeping because all a we woulda dead on the boat," Collins said.

SURVIVAL

With no time to think about the dangers that may have been under the water's surface, Collins said that they all dived into the ocean, depending only on their life jackets and swimming skills for survival.

"Mi never did a pree no shark, mi just a pree bout life, enuh. We all had life jackets and some of the men were divers, so we all know how to survive. The one dingy couldn't hold all of we, so we just had to take turn when a man get tired," he said.

US Coast Guard officials said that on September 13, crew members received a report from the Jamaica Defence Force that a 131-foot fishing boat was on fire and needed emergency assistance.

An enhanced group calling (EGC) message was sent and the crew aboard a 774-foot tanker, Challenge Pollux, responded. That ship rescued all 28 persons aboard. A Colombian navy ship then arrived and transported the passengers to shore.

Collins, who returned to the island earlier this week with 23 of his crew members, who were being housed at a hotel in San Andres, a Colombian coral island. The other four had reunited with their loved ones last week.

"Mi nah tell no lie, it come like a our country we did deh. As a matter of fact, we get better treatment. We did a think say dem did a go carry we go a jail, but dem carry we go a one guest house. People carry tings come give we morning and evening, but everybody did wah come back a dem yard still," he said.

Collins said that while fishing is his main trade, he is still uncertain if he will continue.

"I never had an accident wicked like this before. Mi a rest my mind, and mi nuh sure if mi a go back out a sea. Mi can't say yes or no yet," he said.

The fishermen are currently in the process of recovering their travel documents and identification cards, which were all destroyed in the accident.