An 18-year-old labourer was crushed to death sometime around noon on Tuesday while on duty at a Caribbean Resources Limited (CRL) logging concession at Kaburi, Essequibo River.
Rangil Anthon of Yupukari, Rupununi, according to a police source, was crushed to death when a skidder pulling a “truck load” of logs up a hill reportedly cut out causing the man to be pinned.
Police in a press statement issued last evening said they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Anthon which occurred at about 12 pm Tuesday.
According to the release, “Investigations revealed that a motor vehicle called a ‘skidder’ and a motor lorry were ascending a hill with the skidder in front, during which the skidder stopped to assist to pull the motor lorry, which was loaded with lumber, up the hill”.
Anthon was in the process of tying a length of chain from the skidder to the motor lorry when the engine of the skidder cut off, police stated, causing the vehicle to run back down the hill and pinned him against the motor lorry.
The man was taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Anewell Park, uncle of the deceased, yesterday said that CRL has since “promised” to cover the funeral expenses. However, Park indicated that he is not sure whether the company will provide anything to Anton’s parents. CRL, he explained, was reluctant to cover the full traveling expenses of the young man’s parents.
“I told them [CRL] that my nephew’s parents got to travel out from Rupununi but they say that they only paying one side of the passage,” Park said.
CRL, Park said, informed him of the incident and he had spoken to a company representative. When asked whether the incident was reported to the Ministry of Labour the man said that he was unaware of that. Just after 2 pm yesterday Park was at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs seeking help.
“I send a message to his parents and they should reach out here [Georgetown] by tomorrow afternoon [today],” Park explained. “When he parents come then we going to see what to do.”
Anton, the man said, began working with CRL last August. Meanwhile, efforts made to contact relevant officials at CRL for a comment on the matter were futile.
