Last Updated on August 2, 2022, 7:05 AM AST by Anthony Morris
St Kitts and Nevis observed the 52nd Anniversary of the Christena Disaster on Monday, August 1, 2022. Political leaders from St Kitts and Nevis paid their respects to the disaster victims.
MV Christena was a 160-foot, government-owned, and operated ferry boat. On the afternoon of Saturday, August 1, 1970, the weekend of the annual Emancipation Day holiday, the ferry boat was overloaded on her final run of the day from St. Kitts to Nevis. The passenger capacity was 155, but Christena had approximately 320 people on board that afternoon. When the boat was entering the rougher seas that line up with the channel between St. Kitts and Nevis, the ferry boat took on water and sank. Only 91 people survived, and the great majority of those had to be rescued.
St Kitts and Nevis celebrated Emancipation Day on Monday, August 1, 2022, a day symbolic of freedom and liberation from slavery and the start of a new life for millions of people across the globe. However, on the same day, more than fifty years ago, a disaster happened that still rattles the souls of Many St Kitts and Nevis. The Political Parties of the Twin Island Federation took to their Social Media to mark the day and pay their respects to the disaster victims and their families.
St Kitts and Nevis Nevis Labour Party shared a captioned post on their Facebook, saying, “The Leader of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, Dr Terrance Drew, and The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party pay homage as we reflect on the Christena Disaster that occurred 52 years ago.”
The official Page of the People’s Labour Party also shared the post with the words, “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.”
Another post from the account of Premier Mark Brentley read, “Amidst the celebrations of Emancipation Day and our Culturama festivities, I ask you to take a moment to remember those who perished on the MV Christena some 52 years ago. Today in Nevis, we paid our respect in our annual memorial service in Charlestown. We must never forget that day and the indomitable will of the Nevisian people.”
May the souls of the dearly departed continue to Rest In Peace.”
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
