Body of missing tourist to be removed from Kaieteur bottom Tuesday

Last Updated on Monday, 14 September 2015, 23:40 by GxMedia

A special team from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) today located and secured the body of the tourist who had been reported missing at the Kaieteur National Park (KNP).

She is Gyaneshwarie ‘Laleta’ Sivanand.

The body, which was first spotted by a KNP ranger late Saturday afternoon, was found in a rocky area at the base of the Falls, which had previously been submerged because of high water levels. The body will be elevated to the area at the top of the Falls tomorrow and will be transported by plane to Georgetown for a post-mortem examination.

The Park remains closed for the completion of the recovery operation and is expected to re-opened by Wednesday September 16, 2015.

Late in the afternoon of Tuesday September 1, it was discovered that a tourist, who arrived on a Air Services Limited flight for a tour of the Park, was missing after she left the group she had arrived with on the way back from the Falls.  A search operation was immediately launched by KNP rangers. An expanded search was later led by the GDF and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), focussing on the base of the Falls and the surrounding gorge and trails, but no trace of the woman was found at that time.

As the recovery operation continues, The Ministry of the Presidency expresses sympathy to the family of the tourist during this difficult time.  Thanks are expressed to all officials and agencies that supported the work of the GPF and the GDF during the search and now the recovery operation.