Sri Lankan chef and server Kasun Tharuka Madushanka Fernando has been identified as the man who died after falling off a party boat Monday night.
The Cayman Islands Coast Guard, Thursday afternoon in a statement, confirmed his identity after his relatives were notified of his death.
The Sri Lankan national died mere days before his 33rd birthday, which his co-workers at the Westin said, would have been celebrated Sunday 17 Oct..
Fernando’s body was found Wednesday 13 Oct. around 11:45am south west of Barkers Cay, ending two days of sea searches led by the Cayman Islands Coast Guard, assisted by private boaters and the police chopper.
Fernando was employed at the Westin and had been living in the Cayman Islands for a little over five years, Jim Mauer, Vice President/Managing Director of the Westin said as he spoke with the Cayman Compass on Thursday.
Fernando’s friend Sunny Goswami started a GoFundMe campaign to help send his body home.
By 5pm on Thursday, the $12,000 donation goal had already been surpassed, at $12,277.
“It is very humbling. He may have been Sri Lankan but he was Caymanian at heart…. He was the epitome of CaymanKind. He was loved,” Mauer said.
Fernando fell overboard Monday night around 7:30pm from the Tortuga party boat.
Fernando’s death, Mauer said, left the team at the local hotel devastated as they had all been hoping for the best.
“He was a key associate here and a leader. So many of our associates looked up to him,” Mauer said in a telephone interview.
Fernando, he said was well loved and “was very personable”.
Mauer said the 32-year-old was key to the hotel’s operations pre-pandemic and after the lockdown.
“He was one of the associates who continued the culture of service. It [has been] really stressful and we are sadden by his loss,” he said.
Some of his colleagues were with him when the incident happened.
“Our dear Westin family member, Kasun Fernando, and his family are in our thoughts. Kasun was a selfless and reliable friend to all around him. His kind heart, humble nature, calm demeanor and encouraging smile helped us all in so many ways. Kasun will be forever in our hearts and memories. Kasun was excited to be part of our Westin family Corporate Cup team on Saturday, which we will now be participating in, in his memory,” read a statement to the Compass from the ‘Westin Family & Friends’ said.
Search and recovery efforts
The Coast Guard – supported by members of the Royal Islands Police Service dive team, the Cayman Islands Fire Service, the Cayman Islands Port Authority, and other members of the community – searched for the missing man through 12 and 13 Oct., when efforts shifted to involve swimmers in the water, as they transitioned from search and rescue to search and recovery.
This RCIPS image shows ‘line search’ efforts on Wednesday 13 Oct. to recover Fernando’s body.
Scotland described the change in tactics as “more people in the water supported by vessels utilising what is known as an ‘extended line’ search”.
He said the line search technique being employed was “slow and methodical”.
The Coast Guard, in a post on its official Facebook page, had welcomed offers of assistance from the public in the search. It had asked specifically for individuals whose vessels are equipped with a marine VHF radio or who have access to a marine VHF handheld radio.
On 12 Oct., Coast Guard vessels Typhoon and Mark Luke, as well as Coast Guard jet skis, aided by over 15 private vessels, were involved the search.
The police helicopter was also deployed.
Related Videos
