At the Back of the Fort Victoria Central: Joey Allas, 22, Drowns

A tragedy occurred at Bain-des-Dames on Sunday afternoon. Joey Allas, a 22-year-old local resident, drowned in a basin known as "L'Allée Rond," located behind the Central Electricity Board station in Fort Victoria, Cassis.

The victim's family is angry with certain members of the National Coast Guard. They believe that Joey could have been saved if the first officers on the scene had immediately jumped in to help. This situation caused significant tension at the location. Christelle Telcide, the young man's mother, struggles to accept the tragedy. Joey, who was passionate about fishing, often visited this part of the sea to pursue his hobby. That Sunday, he was at home with his mother before deciding to go out.

"My son left for fishing around 10:20 am. He left the house and arrived there around 10:30," Christelle shared. At least five friends from the neighborhood had gone there with him. Around 12:30 pm, according to initial testimonies gathered by the police, Joey's fishing line got caught on the rocks near the shore. He attempted to unstick it but slipped and lost his footing before being swept away by the sea. "At around 12:45, my second son, 14, jumped in and told me Joey had drowned," the mother recounted tearfully. She rushed to the scene: "When I arrived, there was no one there. No police, no ambulance, no coast guard." Christelle claims she waited a long time before help arrived: "I stayed there waiting for almost half an hour. The first coast guard arrived around 1:30 pm. I was told to take my son out, but he said the coast guard was on land, not at sea... Imagine, I waited more than two hours before they retrieved my son’s body!" she exclaimed, outraged.

Divers eventually intervened and managed to recover Joey's lifeless body. "They tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn't..." she said, devastated. An autopsy confirmed that the young man died from asphyxia due to drowning. Contacted, ASP Suhail Lidialam from the police communication unit stated that the teams acted as soon as the alert was given. "The police received a request about someone in difficulty in the water. A team went out. These lifesavers do not have a boat with them. Boats were deployed from Les Salines and Harbour. A commando team went out, and by 1:40 pm, they started searching. At 2:10 pm, they found the body near the CEB Fort Victoria. Within five minutes, they waited, provided first aid, but the victim had already passed away," he clarified.

The investigation conducted by the Bain-des-Dames police is ongoing to shed light on this tragedy that has shattered a family.