St Kitts and Nevis: The twin-island Federation commemorated the 52nd anniversary of the Christena Tragedy on August 1, 2022. Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and leader of the People’s Labour Party (PLP)-Dr Timothy Harris, took note and remembered the lost lives during the incident. He also extended condolences to the families.
Through the social media handle, the political party of PM Timothy Harris also expressed, “52 years on, the People Labour Party remembers the lives lost in the Christena Tragedy and families of those lost who still grieve their passing.”
Along with this, PM Harris also went to the location where this incident occurred.
The Christena tragedy took place in the Leeward Islands, West Indies, in between the islands of St Kitts and Nevis on August 1, 1970. The disaster was a ferry boat shipwreck with 233 casualties, and only 91 people survived the incident. MV Christena was a government-owned as well as operated ferry boat which served the twin-island Federation of St Kitts & Nevis for the last 11 years. It has worked the 12-mile route between Basseterre and Charlestown.
On August 1, 1970, the weekend of the annual Emancipation Day holiday, the ferry was overloaded as it was its final run for the day from St Kitts to Nevis. On that afternoon, around 320 people were on the board. As the ferry boat entered the rougher seas that line up with the channel between the two islands, was half a mile off Nags Head, it took on water and sank.
Currently, St Kitts and Nevis have been witnessing political campaigns as the general elections are scheduled on August 5, 2022 (Friday). One such campaign rally is organised by the People’s Labour Party at Constituency 3 on August 2, 2022 (Tuesday). The leaders have asked the citizens and residents of St Kitts and Nevis to come and join them at Cardin Avenue from 8 PM.
Monica Walker is a journalist at WIC News who is dedicated to uncovering the truth. Her writing covers a wide range of topics, from breaking news to human-interest stories. Contact Monica at contact@wicnews.com
