Ogopogo Witness Critically Ill in Indian Hospital
Posted by: John Kirk on October 23rd, 2006
A witness to a famous Ogopogo sighting in 2004 is lying critically ill in hospital in India after a freak accident aboard a local train.
Josh Casorso, his father John and other members of his family were aboard a houseboat on Okanagan Lake on August 9, 2004 when at about 7:30 in the morning they were suddenly awakened by a collision between an unknown object and their houseboat. The Casorso family were jolted awake by the impact and they promptly rushed above decks to see what could have struck their vessel.
The Casorsos spotted a long sinuous creature displaying a series of humps swimming away from their boat. John Casorso whipped out his digital camera and began recording the creature. I have seen about 30 seconds of the footage, but I would not say that it definitely shows Ogopogo, but it does show something very unusual in the water that COULD be Ogopogo.
Josh was traveling to a wedding in the Punjab, India and was aboard a train when it made a stop. As it was very hot, Josh climbed out onto the roof as is the custom in India to get some fresh air. When he managed to climb onto the roof, the large buckle on his belt conducted electricity from the overhead train wires and Josh was struck by 40,000 volts of electricity.
He was critically injured and suffered burns to 60% of his body. He was rushed to hospital where he is in critical condition. Fortunately, Josh had friends with him and he was also able to be admitted to a very good hospital in Ludhiana. The Casorsos own a vineyard and Josh’s injury could not come at a more difficult time for the family as it is grape harvest time. Fortunately, Josh’s friends, teachers and fellow students from the Kelowna Christian community pitched in with the harvest, thus allowing his Dad John to fly to India to be at Josh’s side.
Josh and his family need your prayers and good wishes, so if you are inclined to pray, I am sure that he will appreciate your support. I will try and update Cryptomundo readers on Josh’s condition, but as you can imagine, his family needs privacy to deal with this very tough time in their lives.
We wish Josh all the very best and are hopeful that he will make a tremendous recovery and be fortunate enough to have another encounter with the denizen of Okanagan Lake.
About John Kirk
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998).
In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur.
Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC.
In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.
My heartfelt prayers and wishes go to Josh at this most difficult of times for a safe and healthy recovery.
What a tragic accident. I send out my thoughts and wishes to Josh and his family.
Yes, this is a terrible pity.
I found what I think is a brief clip from the film referred to here.
Go the the bottom of the page and hit the link “ogopogo”. The actual footage is a few seconds at the very end.
Best wishes to Josh…