Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Friday 17 January, 2024: On Thursday 16 January 2025, debris from a failed SpaceX launch impacted the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the immediacy of the outfall, the Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority diverted all flights in TCI airspace as well as grounded all flights until an all clear had been given.

There are no reported injuries and reports of only minimal damage to property at this time.

Today, Friday, 17 January, TCIG Officials convened a meeting with relevant partners in the United Kingdom including the UK Space Agency, who are supporting the post incident response, including technical expertise on the handling of debris, health and safety risks, protocols and procedures. The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch have been notified and discussions are ongoing with the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) who will liaise with SpaceX.

This is now an active investigation led by the US FAA in liaison with UK and TCI counterparts.

We are not at this time aware of any specific risks related to the re-entry of space debris on Thursday 16 January. However, space objects can sometimes contain hazardous materials which can cause serious harm to health. Members of the public who come across objects that they think might be space debris should take the following actions:

Do not touch the object
Make a note of the location (Island and exact coordinates) of the object and the time (including any maritime observations of debris)
If possible take a photograph of the object (without touching it) alongside another object for scale
Notify the authorities by sending the details to nationalsecurity@gov.tc with the subject title Space X Debris.
Space debris remains the property of the spacecraft owner

If you have already handled what you think might be space debris please put it in a safe place where others will not handle it and inform the authorities at nationalsecurity@gov.tc. Further advice will be provided for the collation of the debris.

The safety of our residents and visitors remains our highest priority. We appreciate the community’s vigilance and cooperation as we work alongside international partners to manage this incident.

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands – Monday, 13 January 2025: The General Elections for the Turks and Caicos Islands are scheduled to be held on Friday, 7 February 2025, and Nomination Day is set for Tuesday, 14 January 2025.

All potential candidates must register their names, and party symbols, and make the required deposits no later than Nomination Day.

Nomination Pack Availability: Nomination packs are available for any candidate wishing to register in the upcoming General Elections. These packs can be collected from the Elections Office in Providenciales and Grand Turk.

Candidates must thoroughly review the pack and ensure that they meet the requisite requirements.

Nomination Process: To complete the nomination process, candidates must:

Obtain a payment voucher of $500 from the Elections Department in Grand Turk or Providenciales, or from the District Commissioners’ Office in South Caicos, Middle Caicos, and North Caicos.
Make payment into the Government Treasury. Only cash and credit card payments will be accepted at the Treasury and sub-treasuries.
Submit the Treasury receipt along with the completed nomination documents to the designated Returning Officer. These documents must be accompanied by a valid photo identification.

Submission of Nomination Papers: District candidates must lodge their nomination papers with the Returning Officer in the electoral district where they intend to run. All-Island candidates may submit their nomination papers to a Returning Officer in any electoral district.

Submission Times: Nomination papers will be accepted on Tuesday, 14 January 2025, during the following hours:

Morning: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Afternoon: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Returning Officer Locations: Below are the designated locations for the Returning Officers in each district on Nomination Day:

      ED 01 - Grand Turk North: House of Deliverance Centre, Lighthouse Road

· ED 02 – Grand Turk South: HJ Robinson High School Auditorium

· ED 03 – South Caicos: Community Centre, District Commissioner’s Office

· ED 04 – Middle & North Caicos: Kew, Community Centre

· ED 05 – Leeward, Providenciales: David Been Premises, Leeward Highway

· ED 06 – The Bight, Providenciales: Ianthe Pratt Primary School

· ED 07 – Richmond Hill/Cheshire Hall: Gustavus Lightbourne Sports Complex

· ED 08 – Blue Hills, Providenciales: Church of God of Prophecy, Church Office

· ED 09 – Five Cays, Providenciales: Felix Morley Community Centre

· ED 10 – Wheeland, Providenciales: Bethany Baptist Church School (B.E.S.T. School)

For additional information, please contact the Elections Office in Grand Turk (Pond Street) or Providenciales (Caribbean Place), or call 649-338-2304 or 649-246-7742.

Turks and Caicos, January 13, 2025 – The Marine Branch of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force successfully intercepted two illegal sloops within the last 24 hours.  In the first incident, at around 2:25 a.m. yesterday (January 12), the Maritime Operations Center tracked a suspicious target in the Bird Rock, Long Bay area.

Officers of the Marine Branch were informed, and at 2:35 a.m., they spotted a dark blue wooden vessel with two outboard engines carrying several individuals.

The illegal sloop was intercepted, and officers discovered TWENTY-SEVEN (27) illegal migrants- TWENTY-ONE (21) males, including two minors and SIX (6) females.  All individuals were handed over to the TCI Border Force for processing.

Shortly after 1 a.m. today, the Marine Branch, alongside the TCI Regiment, received information that a blue 38-foot wooden Haitian vessel with two outboard engines was in TCI waters.
The vessel was located and intercepted.

Onboard the vessel was ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY-ONE (121) persons – ONE HUNDRED and FOUR (104) males –including a minor and SEVENTEEN (17) females.

Assistant Commissioner (ag) Mat Newton said, “I am grateful to our partners—TCI Border Force and TCI Regiment—for their assistance and support in successfully processing the illegal migrants intercepted by the police. This shows that the layers of security in place are increasingly effective, and we continue to build our defensive measures to tackle this type of crime.”

The RTCIPF asks the public to notify the closest police station, contact 911, the Serious Crime Unit at 231-1842, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477, and anonymously give any information on illegal activity.

Additionally, persons are encouraged to download the CrimeStoppers P3 app and share information anonymously.

Photo Credit: RTCIP