CMC-The Antigua and Barbuda government has expressed condolences to the family of a 37-year-old Canadian woman and her five-year-old son, who drowned on Thursday morning at Devil’s Bridge where they had gone to see the sunrise.
Police said that the woman’s 38-year-old husband, who is also from Canada, received cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene after he went into distress while trying to save his wife and son, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, speaking from Dubai where he is attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28), said he was saddened at the event “and if there is anything at all we can do to assist the family we stand ready to assist.
“But it is a very very tragic situation…and I want to express our sincere sympathy to the family. I feel it as though it was a relative. It is so impactful,” he said.
Tourism Minister Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez, said plans are being made to expedite the bodies to Canada.
Fernandez said he had spoken with the husband “and could only imagine what he is going through” and “we are now in the process of seeing what we can do to bring the family home and get him and the bodies back home as quickly as possible”.
This is the second instance of tourist death at Devil’s Bridge this year and the Tourism Minister said that an assessment will be carried out in order to make the area safer.
“We need to get somebody, again to look at it in a professional capacity. We are not just concerned that tourists could be affected we have a lot of our people who also visit …and so we have to see if anything else can be done to prevent this kind of thing happening.
“From my understanding it is a situation where (the family) went very very close on the rocks to the edge and I think it made it all the more dangerous. Having said that we are still going to review the entire thing to see what we can do to ensure that …people are protected.”
Fernandez said that the husband had informed him that ‘they came to see the sunrise…and that’s most unfortunate,” he said, noting that it was some joggers who had been able to save the husband “and pull him out of the water because he jumped in to save his family and he himself could not swim.
“So from what I was told, it’s not official, but the joggers were the ones that rescued him,” he added.
Devil’s Bridge got its name because the rock used to look like a bridge before part of it fell away into the sea. The slaves on the Island used to cross the bridge and drown themselves believing their spirits would live on and they would return one day a free person and not a slave anymore.
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Let me get this straight, You can’t swim, yet you need to go near the edge of a gurgling, splashing, vicious body of water to see the sunrise? Make that make sense. Call the police this is bull 💩. I am a strong swimmer and I have never ever wanted to go near the edge of a place called DEVILS BRIDGE for any reason.
Sounds like the recipe for a murder suicide to me.
Something just isn’t right with this story.
All I can say is HMMMMMM I agree!!
Every effort should be made to make this natural attraction safer. I remain positive that no effort will be spared to making it safer for our people and the visitors who come to our shores.
Don’t we try to solve crimes here in Antigua?I’m sure this is a crime that he couldn’t commit in Canada and get away with it as in Antigua..
I am sadden by this but I just don’t understand why the tourist keep going close to the edge especially with a young child . I dont see nationals drowning so it must be the tourist are the problem. They need to be more cautious
There is NOTHING that can be done at this place to ensure safety. Even the great Niagara Falls with all its security is breached on a regular. Leave the place natural and pay security to accompany guests there!!! Simple sudden!!!
The section they fell in was where the rope was missing from when they recovered the other guy who drown earlier this year, and that is where they chose to go to “watch the sunrise “….
Somebody needs to speak to his Canadian associates and find out if it’s true this guy cannot swim and if that is false lock he up.
I am sorry but this story sounds a bit fishy to me. No one is more afraid of dangerous heights and cliffs overlooking the sea more than people who cannot swim. I have been to Devil Bridge numerous times with family members and friends who cannot swim and there is no way that you would get them to venture anywhere close to the dangerous waters edge and cliffs. One must be very adventurous and bold to do such a thing. I am quite certain that local and Canadian law enforcement and investigators are looking at this from every angle.
Even if you’re an expert swimmer, thst doesn’t prevent rocks from injuring you. That’s the point 👉. As a man you are the protector of your family. I would never allow my wife or child to venture so close. Why wasn’t he the one who as a man, would go closer and check the area while your wife and child stayed back??
Silly people play silly games and win silly prizes.
Note how quickly the backra descendent minister wento debble bridge! I wonder if he did the same when the fella was electrocuted down Jally Harba side! WHich is it white life or tourist life matters
@ Audley Phillip and @ Victor Moreno
The Canadians Law Enforcement has no jurisdiction over this one.
With regards to Antigua Law Enforcement; this is not the first drowning at Devils Bridge. Anything these clowns and Keystone Cops do will only be for the record. A meaningless and money wasting endeavor.
Many tourist attractions around the world has an element of risk and danger.
Devils Bridge is among them.
This is a listed Tourist Attraction and a part of the the National Park System. These deaths which are not the first are caused by the incompetence and negligence of GOAB. Someone will have to pay
There is a legal term applied to public spaces :”ATTRACTIVE NUESANCE”. Its even applied to playgrounds that are not properly secured with high fences and gates similaly to tools that can be dangerous that need specialized training. ‘That is the reason why many playgrounds has “NO TRESPASSING” warning signs and many TOOLS has danger instructions.
Devils Bridge is an ATTRACTIVE NUSANCE as the legal term is applied. Being an “ATTRACTIVE NUSUANCE should not be thought of as a negative term. It a classification that the courts apply to the party having control or jurisdiction over an event, a site or an attraction; or a manufacturer has the responsibility to warn the public.
Devils Bridge is listed as a tourism attraction, a natural phenomena but a dangerous site.
The bodies will get repatriated to Canada. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism makes the proverbial “so sorry for your lost”
I’ll be on the look out for the family filing a (USD)$50 million lawsuit against GOAB, as well as when the incompetent GOAB begin to lean the basic value of human lives; and act like a responsible Government.
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