Family told that fall caused death of B.C. senior found on catamaran off Belize

According to authorities in Belize, a B.C. senior has been found dead on a catamaran off the coast of the central American country.

The family of a B.C. senior whose body was found on a catamaran off the coast of Belize this week has been told he died in a fall, CTV News has learned.

Relatives have also identified the deceased as 72-year-old Thomas David Harman, who had been sailing with a friend from Guatemala to the Cayman Islands on his own boat, “Melynda.”

A preliminary investigation found Harman had “climbed to the top of the mast to fix the sail” but fell and hit his head, leaving him unconscious and unresponsive, according to a police statement shared by 7News Belize.

A distress call from the catamaran prompted a rescue effort involving a Canadian search and rescue team, which diverted a cruise ship to pick up Harman’s friend from the vessel, according to the family.

“We understand that the cruise ship took the female on board,” Francis Usher, CEO of the Belize Ministry of National Security, told CTV News. 

Usher said the vessel was located “adrift in the water” approximately 100 kilometres off the shore of Belize, and outside of the Central American country’s jurisdiction.

The cruise ship crew was unable to retrieve Harman’s body, and the catamaran was left in the water—until the family contracted a crew to locate the “Melynda,” board the vessel and bring it to the Belize island of Caye Caulker.

Belize authorities previously said they were treating the boat as a potential crime scene because of “apparent wounds” found on the body of the deceased.

“Just to have further details onto what exactly happened, I think further investigation is necessary,” Usher told The Canadian Press on Thursday.

Harman’s body was reportedly taken to Belize City for an autopsy.

The deceased’s son flew to Belize to speak with police and make arrangements to bring his father’s remains back to Canada.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson and The Canadian Press