After Deadly Anse Cochon Collision
A passenger aboard Cazorla Jr told the Maritime Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday that she was thrown into the sea and suffered a broken leg when the vessel collided with Ocean Angel, roughly five minutes after she helped another passenger obtain a life jacket.
Giving evidence on the second day of public hearings in Parliament, Taylor Riviere recalled hearing a loud bang before finding herself in the water, with no warning of the collision that claimed four lives off Anse Cochon on July 18, 2026. The inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding the collision between the two vessels.
Riviere, a spa receptionist from New Development, Soufriere, said she had travelled aboard Cazorla Jr to attend the Carnival event Remedy at Pigeon Island. The group left Soufriere at approximately 4:30 p.m. and began the return journey around 11 p.m. or shortly afterwards.
She identified Tyson Hippolyte as the captain on both legs of the trip and said the vessel’s owner, Irenus Pascal, was also aboard.
According to Riviere, the return journey was relatively quiet, with occasional conversation among passengers. About five minutes before the collision, a fellow passenger, referred to during her testimony as Romeo, requested a life jacket. She approached Pascal to obtain it for him.
Riviere said the passenger could not swim. She did not request a jacket for herself because she considered herself a good swimmer and was accustomed to travelling on boats without one.
She told the commission she did not see anyone else wearing a life jacket.
Describing the impact, Riviere said she had been seated on the right side of the vessel, looking up at the stars. She neither saw Ocean Angel approaching nor heard a horn or any warning of danger.
She recalled no sudden turn or change in speed before the collision.
After hearing the bang, she said, the next thing she knew she was in the sea. Asked whether she had jumped from the boat, Riviere explained that “we flew out on impact.”
Within seconds, she realised her leg was broken and alerted her companion, who began calling for help.
Riviere said Cazorla Jr was farther away than a floating section of Ocean Angel, prompting them to make their way towards the wreckage. Hippolyte entered the water and helped pull them towards it after hearing about her injury.
They climbed onto the damaged section, but Riviere subsequently lost her balance and slipped back into the sea. She decided to remain in the water beside it because she feared it might tip again.
Ocean Angel captain Dylan Nicholas, fellow survivor Roxanne and other passengers were already at the wreckage, she recalled.
As they waited for assistance, her companion asked whom they could call. Riviere supplied her father’s telephone number because she believed he would answer and could quickly contact someone for help.
Nicholas and her companion later used their phone lights to signal a vessel approaching from the direction of Castries.
Riviere said its captain, whom she knew only by the nickname “Cafu,” approached slowly and took survivors aboard.
At Roxanne’s request, those on the rescue vessel then searched for her friends. Riviere said a woman she identified as Ms. Nestor was found unresponsive in the water and brought aboard.
The rescue vessel took the group to Canaries before returning for others who had remained at the wreckage, including Nicholas and Hippolyte.
Residents came out to assist, followed by emergency personnel and volunteers. Riviere said she and her companion travelled to Soufriere Hospital in the back of a pickup and were later transferred by ambulance to St. Jude Hospital.
Her account also brought renewed attention to the safety arrangements aboard Cazorla Jr.
Riviere said passengers received no safety briefing before either journey. The captain did not explain where life jackets were stored, and she was unaware of anyone specifically assigned to keep watch ahead.
However, she stressed that she had not been closely observing everyone aboard and could not say whether a passenger seated near the front had been designated as a lookout.
She recalled seeing red and green lights illuminated at the front of Cazorla Jr. Although she did not see lights from Ocean Angel before the impact, she said she could not determine whether that vessel’s lights were on.
Riviere described the sea as choppy on both journeys, with slightly rougher conditions on the return trip. The vessel was moving up and down over the waves, but she said she felt comfortable with its speed and had seen nothing that prompted her to raise concerns with the captain.
Asked about alcohol consumption, she acknowledged having approximately five tequila drinks at the event but maintained that her mind remained sound. She could not say what the captain or owner had consumed because they went their separate ways after arriving at Pigeon Island.
She described Hippolyte as alert during the journey, while explaining that she would not know what signs to look for to determine whether he was under the influence.
When commissioners questioned her decision to travel without a life jacket, Riviere agreed that being able to swim would not protect a passenger against injury or unconsciousness in a collision.
At the close of her evidence, she confirmed that her continuing leg injury resulted from the July 18 collision. The commission granted her permission to leave because of the injury and advised that she could be recalled.
