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'Only three know what happened out there'

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Died at sea: Mustafa Abdul-Hadee

Grieving relatives of Mustafa Abdul-Hadee and Mikel Williams, brothers who lost their lives while returning from night fishing, last night consoled one another at a St David's residence.For friends and family of the two, said to be experienced mariners, the double drowning in the early hours of Tuesday has left many unanswered questions.“Only three know what happened out there,” sister Linda Foggo said. “Those two and God.”According to the coroner's office, police are currently looking into the deaths, and an inquest will be decided following the investigation.Mr Abdul-Hadee's funeral is set for 2.30pm tomorrow, with a memorial service at the Masjid Muhammad in Hamilton followed by burial at the Muslim Cemetery in St George's. For Mr Williams, a funeral is planned for Monday at the St Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church in St George's, where his cousin, Minister Kimmie Mellow, will speak.The church stands close to the Texas Road home of Ryan Foggo, nephew to the two men, where family and friends gathered to comfort each other.“They went fishing all that day,” brother Anthony Foggo said. “After we talked to the pilot who found them, we feel kind of relieved in a way, because it looks like they were trying to save the boat.”Family said the boat had contained two ice chests loaded with fish, and that two life vests were found separate from the bodies.Mr Abdul-Hadee, often called Clifton or Kiki, was formerly named Ernest Clifton Williams. His wife Ameenhah said he had a son, Melvin Simmons, who is currently away.Mrs Abdul-Hadee said her husband raised her son Mukhtar Abdul-Jabbar from an early age. She told The Royal Gazette: “Right now my son is taking care of business as his father would have wanted. He is making sure that I am secure.”Family said that Mr Williams, who was unmarried, had one daughter.Mr Williams had been living on a boat in Great Bay, St David's, for about a year following the sale of his house.“Mikel liked bars and socialising, just like his father,” recalled Ryan Foggo. “Clifton wasn't a drinker. He was a family man, a hard worker. I knew my uncles very well. In fact, Mikel was supposed to come help here and help work at this house.”The residence overlooks Smith's Island and St George's Harbour. Ms Foggo said that on the night of the brothers' deaths she had watched the outgoing light of the pilot boat that subsequently returned the bodies to shore.Their sister, LaVerne Williams, listed other surviving siblings as Angela Davis; Anthony, Linda, Milton and Carl (Tommy) Foggo; Loretta Griffin, Sandra Hagan and Shereete Williams.“I practically raised those boys from 13 years old because our mother was so busy,” Ms Williams said. “Mikel called me just about every morning. When I saw them last I told them to take care of themselves, I kissed Mikel and hugged Clifton. That's the last time I saw them.”She said she couldn't understand how the two could have capsized their boat, the Tern, and drowned.“They told us it was very calm out there, and as good as those two knew that water, I just can't understand how this happened.”“The tide was very low and the water was cold,” Anthony Foggo said. “They were probably just tired and cold and ran out of energy.”He said the family is reuniting as best they can. Many siblings live overseas. Ms Griffin was expected to arrive last night from Arizona.“We're just pulling together and saying our last goodbyes, and then we'll get back on with life,” he said. “Death is part of life and we all have to go some way.”Added his nephew: “They are with their father now.”Too shocked to know what to do with the damaged boat, the family discussed the idea of using its cedar timbers for a memorial.

Kathryn Garcia captured this image of the Tern docked in St Georges either last year or in 2010.Speaking yesterday, she said: "I just loved the boat. This little, old boat. It was obvious someone was putting a lot of care into working on it."What happened was very, very sad. My family are fishermen, and I just cannot imagine if one dayone of my brothers didn't come home. It's just horrible to imagine."
(Photo by Mark Tatem)Anthony Foggo looks out to sea as the barge carrying the damaged fishing boat Tern navigates the waters off of St David's Head on Tuesday.
Brothers Mustafa (Kiki) Abdul-Hadee (nearest camera) and Mikel (Michael) Edgar Williams seen working on the fishing boat Tern. The two men died after the Tern struck a reef while they were night fishing off St David's.