Photo: Jose Castro, deceased

by Charles Gladden

CAYE CAULKER, Belize District, Mon. Mar. 13, 2023

Over the weekend, the life of Jose Castro, 49, of Caye Caulker Village was cut short after he fell out of his boat and was cut by the vessel’s propellers, which caused him to bleed to death.

An initial investigation revealed that Castro went fishing at sea alone on Sunday morning, March 12, and sometime around noon, his boat began to malfunction mechanically.

Reports suggest that Castro fell out of his boat, and that it was at that point that he was cut by the propellers of his boat and received severe injuries to his ankle and thigh area. He managed to get back into his vessel; however, he passed away due to the severity of his injuries.

Castro was found in his vessel by a passerby who transported him to the Caye Caulker Polyclinic, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Communications Director for the Belize Police Department, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, told reporters that the department must wait for the complete report by the Port Authority.

“When it comes to boating accidents, sometimes it is investigated by the Port Authority and then forwarded to us … We have sent our findings to Port Authority, and we will wait until they give us their end of the investigation,” he said.

Castro leaves behind 4 children.