A teenage cruise ship passenger from Florida became Nassau’s latest jet-ski victim over the weekend.<\/P><\/p>\n
Last night, there was a new call for tighter jet-ski controls after 19-year-old Jose Ruben Reyes was seriously injured off Cabbage Beach on Saturday.<\/P><\/p>\n
The youth was riding a rented high-powered machine when it was in collision with another jet-ski. He was dragged ashore with what were thought to be severe chest and hand injuries.<\/P><\/p>\n
A nursing team from Atlantis was quick to respond and oxygen was being administered to the distressed victim as he lay on the beach waiting for paramedics to arrive.<\/P><\/p>\n
Eventually, he was stretchered from the beach after an ambulance crew had stabilised his neck and back. He was then rushed to hospital.<\/P><\/p>\n
A tourist who saw the aftermath of the collision said: “This poor guy was pulled off the machine and on to the beach. I dread to think what that might have done to him if he had spinal injuries.”<\/P><\/p>\n
The Tribune was on the scene within minutes of the crash. Distraught friends and relatives surrounded Mr Reyes as he tried to communicate through his oxygen mask.<\/P><\/p>\n
One said: “He was on the Carnival cruise ship and was only here for the day. He has been complaining of chest pains and I believe his right wrist is also broken.”<\/P><\/p>\n
The incident sparked off more calls for jet-ski controls.<\/P><\/p>\n
One resident described the scene at Cabbage Beach over the weekend as “mayhem – a jet-ski free-for-all in which injuries are inevitable.”<\/P><\/p>\n
Hoteliers have called repeatedly for proper licensing and zoning procedures, and tougher enforcement of existing regulations.<\/P><\/p>\n
But most jet-ski operators continue to engage in highly dangerous practices, and rent out machines to people who have no idea how to ride them.<\/P><\/p>\n
One source said: “Some of these operators are the lowest of the low. It was sickening how some of them were laughing among themselves after Saturday’s crash: “They obviously had no interest in the young man’s welfare and were only interested taking people’s money.<\/P><\/p>\n
“They are a disgrace to the Bahamas. If we had a government with any guts, they would have been dealt with long ago. But no doubt they have political connections, so they are allowed to carry on.”<\/P><\/p>\n
Critics have repeatedly attacked the way jet-ski operators have commandeered local beaches, forcing swimmers into tightly controlled areas.<\/P><\/p>\n
They allege jet-skis spoil the environment and create endless hazards for people on the beach and in the sea.<\/P><\/p>\n
“Some of the operators are little more than children themselves who show off and pose major dangers for everyone in the area,” said one.<\/P><\/p>\n
“This situation must be taken in hand quickly. Other accidents are bound to happen – and the Bahamas’ image suffers every time.”<\/P><\/p>\n
Last night, hospital authorities were unable to release Mr Reyes’ condition.<\/P><\/p>\n
Source: The Tribune<\/small><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bahamas government continues to ignore international cries for watersports legislation AND enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}