Dear Navin Ramgoolam,
I am writing to you from the United Kingdom as the niece (Dayana Vadamootoo) of a 77 year-old man (Yvan Vadamootoo) who died at Ile aux-Cerfs on Sunday 3rd May 2026. I was not present, but I am writing on behalf of my family who were there. They witnessed everything. What they experienced that day bears no resemblance to the single line that appeared in the press the following morning.
My uncle did not “disappear at sea.” He got into distress in less than one metre of water, in full view of his family. It was my cousins who pulled him from the water — not emergency services.
In those first critical minutes, my cousin turned to the security guards on site and asked them to call the hotel for emergency assistance. He was told that this service was reserved for hotel residents only.
A man was dying. And the response was: he is not a guest.
With no institutional help forthcoming, it fell to bystanders — a French woman, a Russian nurse, and a doctor on holiday — to immediately begin resuscitation. My cousin’s wife, Emilie Lutchmiah, a nurse, led efforts on the ground. They acted because in their countries, citizens are taught from the age of 16 that saving a life is a shared responsibility.
When emergency services finally arrived — more than ten minutes later — this is what my cousins witnessed:
They did not know the recovery position (PLS). The family had to instruct them.
They had no equipment to clear the airways, despite being asked.
They refused to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — and told the family to do it themselves.
They brought oxygen that was not connected.
They handled my uncle’s body without care, including dropping him during transfer.
The transport vehicle had no functional medical equipment.
No serious resuscitation was performed by any uniformed professional.
To be clear: had those foreign civilians not been present, there would have been no medical care whatsoever.
The next day, one line appeared in the press: “A 74-year-old man found dead at sea.” Sourced from the police. My cousin gave a detailed statement at 16:55 that same day — a statement that contains every fact listed above. None of it was reported.
I am not writing about an isolated human error. I am writing about a failing system:
— A tourist site where emergency assistance is conditional on whether you are paying a hotel bill
— Inadequate training of emergency responders
— Missing basic equipment at point of intervention
— No accountability for what happened on that beach
— A media narrative that reduces a preventable tragedy to a footnote
My uncle deserved better. And so does every person in Mauritius — resident or visitor — who may one day find themselves in distress, trusting that help will come.
I am formally requesting:
1. A full independent investigation into the emergency response at Ile -aux-Cerfs on Sunday 3rd May 2026 including the conduct of on-site security personnel.
2. An urgent review of first-responder training standards and equipment requirements nationwide.
3. A review of the responsibilities of private operators at public tourist sites regarding emergency assistance — regardless of a person’s guest status.
4. A direct response to this letter — not a press statement, but a genuine commitment to accountability. I will follow up until I get a response.
The real emergency in Mauritius today is not what happened to my uncle.
It is the system that failed him — and that will fail others tomorrow.
Yours faithfully,
Dayana Vadamootoo Sheehy
