NIGHTLY prayer services have been held in Cedros for the five fishermen missing at sea, as relatives cling to hope the men are alive and will return.

"We are still hoping for the best, although people are saying negative things. We are not taking it on. Only God knows the truth. We are hoping and praying the five will appear," a relative said on March 6.

Missing are captain Davanand Seepaul, 35, his father David Seepaul, 60, Braiyer Alexander Gonzalez Ali, 21, Shiva Seepersad, 20, and Jeremiah Pasqual, 19.

Relatives have distanced themselves from speculation that the men's disappearance was linked to a drug deal gone bad.

On February 24, the crew went to sea aboard a fishing vessel named Amanda from Fullarton Beach. Except for Ali, the men live in Fullarton Village. Ali lives in Curepe and has dual citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

On March 2, a man's decomposing body was found off the coast of Venezuela. The clothes he wore fitted the description of David Seepaul 's.

The body is still to be identified and David's relatives are not convinced it was him.

"We are not sure if that body concerns us. We do not want to believe it.

"But if it is him, it is him. We are trusting in God. We are still trying to figure out how we will get there to try to see the body," said one.

One of Ali's close relatives told Newsday the body was found in the Caripito River (in the Monagas State) near Pedernales (in the Delta Amacuro State).

An autopsy was set to be done during the week in Maturin and they were awaiting more information.

Pasqual's brother Triston Pasqual said the search is ongoing, but there was no new information about the men's whereabouts.

"We are in a lost world. People are still searching for them.

"The last I heard was the body found in Venezuela. We do not know what is going on. We are stressed out, and the pain is not going away," Triston said.

He said their mother died a died a year ago and the family is still trying to cope.

Local and Venezuelan authorities are working together to try to confirm the identity of the body.

The post Missing Cedros fishermen's families cling to hope appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.