Several patrons are counting their blessings today after avoiding serious injury aboard a party boat, named Fantasy Island, that capsized off the coast of Negril, Westmoreland on Saturday (May 1). 

A representative from Jamaica Tiki Party Charters, which owns the boat, told Our Today on Sunday that the vessel is floating again and while minor maintenance work is ongoing, its services will be available to sight-seers and revellers very soon.

The representative was tight-lipped on how many persons needed evacuating as well as the time of the partial submersion.

Based on videos of the incident circulating on social media, however, preliminary estimates suggest the boat encountered difficulty around mid-afternoon. 

An explanation by recording artiste Thurston Gordon was that overcrowding and boat-hopping contributed to the mishap.

“What a day it was our boat @fantasyisland_ja was hosting a party cruise alongside another boat carrying the majority of the guest[s], when we got to Ricks Cafe our DJ was spinning heavy, speakers blasting [and] patrons from other boats swarmed the vessel faster than we could get them off. Over capacity. New rules [applied] by our security team will be tighter,” he said.

There were no reports of injuries.