KRALENDIJK – In the early hours of Thursday, September 12, the central emergency dispatch received a report that a fishing boat had gone missing at sea. Onboard were two men who had left around 7 a.m. on the morning of September 11 to go fishing but had not returned.

The men were also unreachable by phone. Other fishermen had last seen the men in their boat near Bachelor’s Beach. The Caribbean Netherlands Police Force (KPCN) immediately launched a search.

At around 4:30 a.m., a Coast Guard helicopter arrived on Bonaire and began a low-altitude search over the sea until approximately 6 a.m., but without success. Later, the Coast Guard’s Dash aircraft also arrived in Bonaire.

At around 9 a.m., a report came in that the fishermen had been found on Klein Bonaire. A STINAPA boat went directly to Klein Bonaire to pick up the two fishermen and bring them back to Bonaire.

Current

The fishermen were found safe and sound. They had been given food and water by tourists who found them on Klein Bonaire. The men explained that, for unknown reasons, their boat had sunk, and the sea current had carried them to Klein Bonaire.