“They asking for money for everything,” said Lloyann Stuart, the widow of Shadrack Stuart, one of the victims. “We had to pay ourselves to some Haitian people just for them to get my husband body out of the sea and treat his body.”

I hope this is not a cry in an attempt to ask the Bahamian government to help foot the bill to bring these criminals back home. These were not men who died while serving their country, or even died doing non illegal activities. These men died while being pursued by Haitian officials during a drug bust. The only people that should be responsible for getting them home is their families.
I hope this proves a cautionary tale to those thinking to get involved in illegal activities, either have your money ready with a family member to bring you back, or stay your hip home and work like a honest person.

Ya'll don't take anything seriously until someone gets hurt. Less we forget what happened to Charles Virgil in 1997. I think that anyone who is running for office should be afforded some form of security until after the elections.

But hey, let's wait for it to escalate past breaking and entering and vandalism.

I blame the people on these islands that continue to vote the same MP in power, even when they prove to be useless in providing even the basic needs of the island.
This situation just highlights the ongoing issue that plagues all out islands and even New Providence. A lack of emergency resources...plain and simple.

They don't consider EMS as essential. That is the crux of the problem. EMS is a necessary evil to them and therefore only receives scraps after outcries are made. They do not receive anything unsolicited and new the way the police and defense force do. The police force has gotten numerous new trucks, cars, and motorcycles and EMS struggles to get one sensible ambulance.
EMS is oftentimes the first on scene yet the EMT'S don't even have insurance. Exposed to all manner of disease and such in the course of providing care, yet it's the police and defense force with insurance-including their dependents.
They need to revamp the entire EMS system and put people in place who will get the job done.

The issue is that they need to stop making this a political issue and understand that it's a Bahamian issue, in that it affects all Bahamians.
The last referendum the issue was clouded by the LGBT agenda, when in actuality that was not even the issue at hand. But some Bahamians being ignorant jumped on that bandwagon and they became the loudest voice in the market.

We just need to do better...PERIOD

Not just skin, the head, most motorcyclist die of head trauma. They need to start making these riders wear helmets.

Sometimes it's people jealous of what you've accomplished and not necessarily because you are a bad person or involved in anything. These days people have such a spirit of jealousy, envy, and hate, they'd kill their own relatives- it's happened. So don't be so quick to say he wasn't a good man, unless you know first hand you can't make that broad assumption.

The question is where is the insurance for EMS? They cut off insurance for family members of police, but the people who work for the ambulance don't have insurance for themselves, much less family members. Can someone address that, explain how those men and women are also on the front line and don't have any insurance?

But with an air embolism he most likely would have collapsed sooner. From what the mother described sounds like Type II DCS, and that would required using a hyperbaric chamber.
He most likely based on this report was saturated after diving deep all day, and probably didn't follow the dive tables for his limits.
Sadly the mother is right, a chamber should have been working, especially on an island like Abaco where there are many commercial fisherman.
So tragic and unnecessary this young man's death.

A very tragic situation, RiP to all the lost souls.
But question, I read in another news report that the RBDF had to wait until daybreak to begin search and rescue operations. So from the boat capsized and the distress call was apparently received at 4am, the RBDF had to wait 2-3 hours to begin to render assistance?

I'm not sure how accurate this news report was, but if that was the scenario, why are the RBDF not equipped with SAR lights. This isn't the first time tragedy at sea as occurred and I've heard of the RBDF having to wait for daybreak.
Someone make it make sense, where are the SAR floodlights and equipment required to make rescues at night?