标签： Bahamas

One of the deadliest civilian aviation incidents in recent Bahamian history, which claimed 10 lives during an Independence Day flight, has entered a critical new phase of investigation, with recovered wreckage now shipped to the United States for detailed forensic examination. The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA), the national body leading the probe, confirmed this week that all salvaged aircraft components—including both of the plane’s engines—have been transported for analysis at two separate U.S. facilities: a secure investigative site in Jacksonville, Florida, and the engine manufacturer’s dedicated assessment center in Mobile, Alabama.

These technical examinations form a core pillar of the AAIA’s ongoing safety-focused investigation, designed to help experts piece together the exact sequence of events that led to the crash and identify any underlying factors that contributed to the disaster. In a public statement clarifying the scope of its work, the AAIA emphasized that the probe’s sole mandate is to advance aviation safety: by pinpointing existing safety gaps, the authority will develop targeted corrective recommendations to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

Crucially, the AAIA noted that its safety investigation is completely separate from any parallel probes conducted by the Bahamas’ judicial, legal, or regulatory bodies, and it is not intended to assign blame or establish civil or criminal liability for the crash.

The recovery of wreckage from the crash site was completed between July 22 and 24, carried out by the AAIA with technical support from SouthEast Air Recovery, a Florida-based firm specialized in aviation accident recovery. The downed aircraft was a Flamingo Air Cessna 402C, which was operating a scheduled passenger route from New Providence to North Andros when it crashed close to San Andros Airport on Independence Day.

Initial witness and on-site evidence confirms the plane first collided with trees before traveling a short distance and coming to a stop in a heavily wooded area, where the wreckage was subsequently destroyed by post-crash fire. Of the 10 people on board, one individual survived the initial impact and escaped the damaged aircraft, but later succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death toll to 10.

The investigation remains in its opening phase, which is focused on the systematic collection, documentation, and preservation of all available evidence, the AAIA confirmed. Once this evidence-gathering stage is concluded, the probe will advance to its second phase: comprehensive data analysis, during which investigators will evaluate every piece of factual material, including results from the wreckage examinations, flight recorded data, aircraft operational records, maintenance logs, weather data from the day of the crash, witness testimony, and all other relevant evidence.

The third and final phase of the investigation will be the presentation of findings, which will conclude with the preparation and publication of a full final report. This document will include any safety recommendations the AAIA deems necessary to strengthen national and regional aviation safety.

In a timeline update, the authority announced that a preliminary report into the crash is expected to be released on or before August 10. In line with international aviation investigation standards, a full final report is projected to be published approximately one year after the date of the crash, though the AAIA cautioned that this timeline may be adjusted if additional investigative work is required to resolve outstanding questions.

A violent bullying incident at C.H. Reeves Junior High School has sparked widespread public outrage after a viral video captured a group of students surrounding and attacking a 13-year-old boy, who was ultimately forced to flee for his safety across school grounds. The incident, which unfolded during summer classes for incoming eighth-grade students last Thursday, has also drawn sharp criticism over alleged failures by school administration to protect the victim, according to his mother Genal Bodie.

The confrontation traces back to a heated group phone call the night before the attack, when multiple participants mocked the 13-year-old following the recent death of his grandmother. When the boy pushed back against the insults, the attackers planned to target him at school the next day, a escalation he never anticipated. On Thursday morning, tensions boiled over: at least eight boys cornered the teen on campus, with one attacker ordering another to strike the victim before a boy in a black head wrap shoved him. The victim repeatedly refused to fight, telling the group the primary aggressor was once his friend, but his attempts to de-escalate only egged on the crowd. Surrounding students jeered and urged the attackers to continue, with some shouting calls to seriously hurt the teen. One attacker grabbed the 13-year-old by the shirt, another slapped him in the head, and a third threatened the victim by claiming he had a knife. Overwhelmed, the teen ran for his life, with the entire group chasing him across the school campus.

After escaping the pursuit, the teen fled to the school administration office to request help, saying he feared for his safety if he tried to walk home alone. According to Bodie, school officials contacted the parents of the attacking students, notified them their children would face suspension through September, and asked the families to pick up their children from campus. However, no administrator reached out to Bodie to inform her of the incident, nor did any staff arrange safe transport home for her son. When the teen eventually left campus on his own, he found the entire group of attackers waiting for him just outside the school gate. Only the quick intervention of the victim’s cousin, a school security officer, prevented further violence: she pulled the boy into her car for protection while other security personnel ordered the group to disperse.

Bodie said she first sensed something was wrong when her son arrived home earlier than usual, but he hid the full extent of the attack from her because she lives with a seizure disorder and he did not want to cause her additional stress. The teen initially only told her a few boys had tried to fight him, and said the school had resolved the issue. It was only after Bodie noticed a lump on her son’s head and swelling along his cheek that she began pressing for more details, and she learned the full truth only when a neighbor’s daughter shared the viral video with her while the pair ran errands.

“When I saw the video, I felt my knees go weak,” Bodie told local outlet The Tribune. “Watching that happen to my child was heartbreaking — I felt every blow he took, every bit of fear he went through. When I showed it to him, he just started trembling; it was only then that the full trauma of what happened really hit him.”

Bodie questioned the school’s handling of the incident, saying: “What were the teachers and administrators at C.H. Reeves thinking? Aren’t they parents themselves? How could they let my son walk out of the gate when the same boys who just attacked him were waiting there for him?”

Bodie, who is now considering transferring her son to a different school for his safety, reported the incident to police on Friday and accompanied officers to the campus to demand answers about the school’s response. She acknowledged that her son had been involved in two minor fights in the past, and had completed a two-week behavioral program to learn conflict resolution skills after yielding to peer pressure to fit in. Still, she said the attackers must be held legally accountable for their actions, warning that unaddressed bullying could easily end in tragedy.

As of press time, police have not released any updates on the investigation, including whether any attackers have been taken into custody. The viral video of the incident has spread rapidly across social media in the region, racking up nearly 1,000 shares and more than 700 comments by the time local media reported on the case. The incident has sparked widespread condemnation of the attack, with many social media users praising the 13-year-old for avoiding a fight and escaping the dangerous situation, while questioning the upbringing of the students involved.

Khandi Gibson, president of local advocacy group Families of All Murder Victims, has called for an urgent meeting with all families involved to resolve the conflict, and urged the broader community to take a public stand against bullying. She praised the 13-year-old as a hero for choosing to run rather than escalate the violence, and has organized community support for the victim: she is gifting him a new phone for the upcoming school year, and community members have stepped forward to donate school supplies, with response overwhelming. “This child endured humiliation, fear and embarrassment that no young person should ever have to face at school,” Gibson said. “It’s long past time we stood together to put a stop to this kind of senseless violence.”

A days-long search for a 27-year-old missing Bahamian man concluded in heartbreaking tragedy Thursday evening, after one of his family members located his body in the Hacio Point Close neighborhood. The deceased man was later identified by close relatives as Antonio Cartwright. Cartwright was last seen by associates around 8:30 a.m. on July 19 at the CBS Bahamas location in Southwest Plaza, according to a missing person alert circulated publicly by his family on Tuesday. Local law enforcement confirmed officers received a report of an unresponsive individual shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Those who knew Cartwright have remembered him as a diligent, warm-hearted young man with a deep passion for house painting, who threw himself fully into his professional work. On Friday, CBS Bahamas, Cartwright’s employer, released an official statement extending its deepest sympathies to his loved ones. “Although Antonio had only recently joined the CBS Bahamas family, he quickly made a positive impression on both colleagues and customers alike,” the company said. “Many of our regular shoppers would recognize Antonio from our Paint Center, where he played an integral role in delivering expert guidance and high-quality service to everyone who walked through our doors. He was a joy to work alongside, and just recently, he was honored with our Employee of the Quarter award.” In the days between Cartwright being reported missing and his body being found, CBS Bahamas actively collaborated with his family to coordinate search efforts. The company supported the search by distributing missing person flyers, sharing information about his disappearance across its social media platforms, and reaching out to other businesses located along the route Cartwright typically took to travel home, all in an effort to gather any clues that could help locate him safely. Authorities have announced that a full post-mortem examination will be carried out to establish the exact cause of Cartwright’s death.

A wave of collective sorrow washed over Cat Island this weekend, as hundreds of mourners gathered to lay to rest two young women whose ambition and academic excellence had made them beloved pillars of their tight-knit community. Stania Webb and Diamond Stubbs, both victims of the deadliest traffic accident The Bahamas has seen in at least 20 years, were buried side by side at Smith’s Bay Public Cemetery on Saturday, almost one month after the fatal June 28 crash on Shirley Street that claimed five lives total.\n\nThe tragedy also took the lives of 18-year-old Bertrica Brown, 19-year-old Evalena “Lilly” Johnson, and 19-year-old Keno Gordon Jr. All five were teenagers travelling in a Mazda sedan when the vehicle collided with a tree near the Shirley and Church Streets intersection shortly before 2 a.m. on June 28. Nineteen-year-old Marcus Thacker Jr, the driver, has since been charged with five counts of vehicular manslaughter, with prosecutors alleging he operated the vehicle in a dangerous manner leading up to the crash.\n\nThe grieving process for Webb and Stubbs began a day earlier, on Friday, when their remains were flown back to Cat Island to be received by heartbroken relatives and neighbors. Stania’s casket arrived first: her father Stanley Webb, the girl’s only parent on the island, walked out to meet the aircraft to help guide his only daughter’s body into the waiting hearse. When Diamond’s remains arrived moments later, uncontrolled sobs and cries of anguish erupted through the gathered crowd. “Look at my baby come back to Cat Island like this,” one mourner screamed, a raw expression of the pain that hung over the entire community.\n\nMourners gathered Saturday for a joint funeral, dressing in blue and green to match the colors of Diamond’s and Stania’s caskets respectively. Many family members struggled to get through their tributes, overwhelmed by the sudden loss of two lives cut down just as they were poised to begin their adult journeys. At the opening of the service, Stanley Webb was so overcome with grief that he needed assistance to reach his seat, but he soon gathered himself to address the congregation about the daughter he adored.\n\n“This is my only daughter. My only daughter,” Webb told the crowd. “I tell you, I love this little girl. Her mother said, ‘You have to be spoiled.’ I said she’s not really spoiled, she’s spoiled and she’s rotten.” He described the permanent, devastating hole her death has left in his family, saying, “I’m gonna miss this lovely young lady so much. They take a part of me. I’m hurting deep within.” He also extended his grief to all five families affected by the crash, noting, “We lost five beautiful little ones, darlings.”\n\nEven amid his pain, Webb shared that he had found small comfort in the outpouring of unity from Cat Island residents, who have rallied around the bereaved families in the weeks since the crash. “I tell my family in the group chat, I say I’m going to be as strong as Stanley can be,” he said. “I said the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. I am grateful for everything. All of my friends in Cat Island, we came together so united. It kind of freaked me out a little. We stand together in love and unity.”\n\nStania was a second-year student at Langston University in Oklahoma, where she studied music with a minor in law and performed as a saxophonist in the university’s marching band. Her brother honored her by playing the final music project she had completed before her death, a bittersweet tribute to her artistic passion. Diamond, by contrast, had only graduated as valedictorian and head girl of Cat Island’s Old Bight High School two weeks before the crash, and was preparing to join Stania at Langston University this coming semester. Officials from Langston presented a joint tribute to both young women at the funeral, announcing that the entire upcoming academic year would be dedicated to their memory.\n\nDiamond’s aunt shared a recording of her niece’s valedictory address, letting the congregation hear the teen’s voice one last time. Her words of perseverance, originally delivered to her graduating class, carried a devastating new weight for the mourners: “Standing here today as your valedictorian, I won’t lie, this means everything to me — not because my journey was perfect, but because it was worth it. The truth is, it was hard. There were times people called me out, times when I heard the whispers. So instead of breaking, I built myself. I pushed hard and prayed hard. When people were talking, I got quiet and got close to God. I stayed rooted in faith when things didn’t make sense, rooted in purpose when I felt lost and rooted in strength when I felt weak. This is why I can stand here today — not because everything was perfect, but because I didn’t give up.”\n\nShe had reminded her classmates that graduation was never just about grades or accolades, but about the growth that comes from overcoming hardship together. “Some of us had battles nobody saw. Some of us carried weight no one talked about, but we made it together,” she said in the recording. “We laughed together and leaned on each other when things got heavy. There were days we cared for one another, and that’s something I will never forget. This wasn’t just a journey; it was our journey.”\n\nBahamas Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis also spoke at the service, reflecting on the potential the two women held and the future that was stolen from them by the crash. A family representative for the pair noted that Stania and Diamond had long carried the hopes and pride of their entire community, serving as examples for Cat Island’s young people of what discipline, faith and education can achieve. “We grieve for the graduations, the birthdays, careers, marriages and family celebrations that should have followed,” the representative said.\n\nFormer teachers and family friends shared their own memories of the two teens, painting a picture of bright, kind young women who excelled in their studies and lifted up those around them. Bradley Dorsett, Diamond’s godfather, remembered her as a hardworking teen who had spent several weeks working at his wash house just weeks before the crash. Dr Bennique Brown-Pratt, principal of Old Bight High School, recalled that Stania was part of the first seventh-grade class she taught after joining the school in 2018. Though naturally reserved, Stania placed in the top three at a national public-speaking competition, a testament to her quiet determination. Of Diamond, Brown-Pratt said the teen was a gentle, unassuming, and dependable student who participated enthusiastically in every school activity. “You know how people fabricate those qualities for those references for other persons,” she said. “I didn’t have to. Everything written about her came to my heart because it was genuine.”\n\nBrown-Pratt added that the pair’s deaths have left a permanent gap at the school they once attended. “The loss of these two ladies is an immense one. Not only did they leave, but their physical diplomas — they left an ink mark in the hearts and halls of Old Bight High. Love never graduates; therefore, they will revere us as we navigate life without them.”\n\nA marching band escorted the two caskets to Smith’s Bay Public Cemetery for burial, where family members surrounded the plots to lay flowers and say their final goodbyes. As workers sealed Diamond’s tomb, a child’s cry cut through the quiet grief of the gathering: “That’s my sister. No.”’

Over the weekend, communities across two major Bahamian islands — Abaco and New Providence — were thrown into chaos by a series of prolonged, repeated power outages that upended daily life, shuttered local businesses, and reignited long-simmering public anger over the inconsistent service provided by Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

For Abaco residents, the latest wave of disruptions began as early as midweek, with one outage stretching to an 18-hour stretch of darkness. Across the country’s most populous island, New Providence, intermittent power cuts continued from Friday through the end of the weekend, with BPL attributing the issues to a perfect storm of natural and infrastructure failures: lightning strikes, damaged high-voltage cables, faulty transformers, degraded equipment, and crippling strain on the grid from excessive energy demand.

Chantelle Sands, president of the Abaco Chamber of Commerce, described Thursday as one of the most devastating days for local commerce, with extended blackouts halting normal operations across the island. “Businesses that do not have backup generators are at an even greater disadvantage,” she explained. “When power fails, many are forced to close entirely, lose critical daily sales, and face the risk of losing entire inventories of refrigerated and frozen goods. Reliable power is not a luxury — it is a foundational requirement for keeping businesses open, protecting jobs, and sustaining the country’s economic momentum.”

BPL officials have confirmed a string of separate failures across Abaco between Wednesday and Saturday. The issues started Wednesday with a sudden power surge at the Marsh Harbour Power Station that cut service to Murphy Town, Dundas Town and Forest Drive, which was restored shortly after. That same day, repairs to a damaged high-voltage cable in South Scotland Cay caused a second temporary outage for local residents.

The most serious breakdown hit the Wilson City Power Station just after 1 p.m. Thursday, when one of the facility’s primary generating units unexpectedly tripped offline, cutting power to all of Central and South Abaco as well as the surrounding cays. According to Marvin Green, BPL’s Northern Regional Manager, this type of failure would typically take between 45 minutes and 90 minutes to resolve, but unforeseen additional complications dramatically slowed restoration efforts.

Technicians eventually managed to restart the generating unit, but power only remained active for roughly 20 minutes before a second failure forced the entire station offline. Green explained that much of the repair work focused on the plant’s critical uninterruptible power supply system, which supports the station’s automated operations. After crews resolved that issue and restarted the engine, the station’s main transformer tripped, triggering yet another full blackout.

Additional outages continued to plague Central and South Abaco and Guana Cay on Friday and Saturday, each tied to separate new infrastructure issues. For residents and business owners, these repeated disruptions are not an unexpected one-off event — they are the latest chapter in a years-long crisis that has raised daily stress and added unplanned costs across the islands.

Sands shared one particularly striking example of the chaos: a local business that had its generator transfer switch damaged by BPL technicians, leaving the company completely without power even when it had planned for backup. While many business owners have invested thousands in private generators to keep operations running, Sands noted that the recurring costs of fuel and maintenance eat into already razor-thin profit margins for local companies.

To address the long-term crisis, Sands is calling on local businesses to invest in solar energy infrastructure where feasible, and is urging the Bahamian government to eliminate import duties and value-added tax on renewable energy systems. She argued that lower upfront costs for renewable systems would encourage more widespread adoption, reduce strain on BPL’s overburdened grid, and strengthen the country’s overall energy security.

Abaco resident Roscoe Thompson, who endured one 18-hour outage, said the problem has persisted since Hurricane Dorian hit the islands, and successive political administrations have failed to deliver on promises to fix the grid. “This isn’t an issue that just popped up out of nowhere,” he said. “Every new administration promises things will change, but when summer rolls around with higher demand, we end up right back where we were last year.” He added that the outages hurt not just local residents, but also the country’s critical tourism industry: without power, credit card machines do not work, and businesses cannot open at all for visitors.

Another Abaco resident, Danny Sawyer, recalled an outage that started between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. one day last week, with power restored to some neighborhoods by 3 a.m. the next day, while others waited until 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. to get service back. Outage lengths vary wildly, he said, ranging from two or three hours to more than six, and any severe thunderstorm with lightning typically prompts BPL to shut down power stations as a safety precaution. For residents without backup power, extended outages in the Bahamian heat become unbearable — Sawyer recalled one friend who was forced to sleep in his car to escape the high temperatures. Even for those who have portable generators, the cost is prohibitive, he said, with gasoline selling for roughly $8 per gallon.

On New Providence, residents also faced days of repeated, intermittent outages, with BPL confirming that lightning strikes, cable faults, damaged transformers, broken equipment, and high demand affected communities across the island. Crews worked around the clock to complete repairs and gradually restore service, but frustrated residents took to social media to vent about the frequency and duration of the cuts. One Facebook user reported going seven hours and counting without power by Sunday, while another complained that power had fluctuated on and off five times, putting household appliances at risk of permanent damage from irregular voltage.

Eastern New Providence was among the hardest hit areas over the weekend. Rosemary Sands, a resident of Joe Farrington Road, said her power was cut from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, following a shorter outage the day before. “We are annoyed but we’re used to this thing now,” she said. “It feels like we’re living in a third world country, dealing with these constant outages.” Still, she added that she believes BPL crews are doing the best they can with aging infrastructure.

For small service businesses that rely entirely on electricity to operate, the outages create persistent financial and operational strain. Shanice Carey, owner of True Beauty Salon in New Providence, explained that every service her business offers depends on power — from hood dryers and heated styling tools to hot water and air conditioning. When power goes out, all work stops, pre-scheduled appointments have to be rescheduled, and sensitive salon equipment is put at risk of damage. “Frequent power outages disrupt client schedules, strain our equipment, and create significant unexpected operational costs,” Carey said. “While we do everything possible to adapt and minimize the impact on our clients’ experience, persistent outages place a heavy burden on our salon when trying to provide quality, efficient service.”

A multi-day search operation in Exuma, Bahamas, has ended in tragedy after authorities recovered the body of 23-year-old Andrew Sears Jr., a man who had been released on bail, from shallow waters close to Madam Dau’s Cay on Wednesday. The grim discovery came 24 hours after Sears placed an emergency distress call to local law enforcement, which immediately launched a manhunt across the region.

Initial search efforts focused on the Barraterre community following the Tuesday distress call, but first responding teams were unable to locate the missing young man. To expand the search, a specialized search and rescue unit was deployed from New Providence, combining advanced drone surveillance, tracking canine units, and electronic ankle monitoring data to narrow down Sears’s location. The combined resources ultimately led recovery teams to the shallow waters where his body was found.

When officers recovered the body, Sears’s father, Andrew Sears Sr., was present at the scene to identify his son and accompany law enforcement as the remains were transported to the Exuma mainland for further processing. The elder Sears told reporters that police first contacted him shortly after receiving his son’s distress call on Tuesday, asking for information about his potential whereabouts. Because Sears Sr. lives a considerable distance from the search area, he told officers he had no information to share on his son’s location.

After being notified, the father attempted multiple times to reach his son via phone call and text message, but all attempts to connect went unanswered. “To be honest, when the officer called me, my mind was done prepared for the worse, but I was praying and hoping for the best,” Sears Sr. recalled in an interview. “Like I tell the officer when I reach there, there’s nobody in the world that could have an ankle monitoring bracelet who still alive and y’all ain’t see that (moving). I say only two things could really happen. Either he cut off the monitor and leave it there or he pass out and sleeping some place in the bush. The only thing we could try do is locate him.”

Sears Sr. added that he was not aware police had already tracked his son’s general location via the ankle monitor before the body was found in the water. Despite overwhelming grief, the elder Sears stayed to assist law enforcement with their recovery effort, working to keep his composure at the scene. “When we reach there, my eyes become full, but what could I do? I didn’t want to make another problem on the scene,” he said.

The grieving father expressed gratitude to police for the speed and effort they put into the search operation, noting that the entire family has been shattered by the loss. He shared that he has been unable to sleep since learning of his son’s death, and that Sears Jr.’s mother and siblings are also struggling deeply to cope with the sudden tragedy.

When asked if he suspected foul play played a role in his son’s death, Sears Sr. declined to speculate, saying the family is focused on waiting for official investigation results to get clear answers. He added that the last time he spoke to his son was the previous Friday, and at no point did the 23-year-old indicate he felt his life was in danger. Sears Sr. confirmed he was aware of a recent legal dispute involving his son and a resident of Barraterre, but said the family had left the matter to be resolved through the court system.

Friends and family remember Andrew Sears Jr. as a warm, loving young man. He was self-employed, running a small landscaping and construction business, and had recently been planning to expand his operations to serve more clients.

As of Thursday, Bahamian police have not yet officially classified the death as suspicious, accidental, or the result of foul play. A full autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of Sears Jr.’s death, which will allow investigators to move forward with their probe into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.