A forklift operator died tragically shortly after 4 pm yesterday when he jumped off a Hyster forklift which was on the back of a lumber truck at Fair’s Rust, Mackenzie, Linden, as it was slipping but it landed on him.
According to eyewitnesses, the man whose name was given as Ricky Ragabeer of Soesdyke-Linden Highway, said to be in his mid-30s, was at the time loading the Hyster onto trailer TLL 5315 when the back left wheel slipped off the trailer.
“I sense that he feel deh forklift was sliding off deh truck, and deh man jump but the machine landed on he shoulder.”
It was reported that the driver of the truck GLL 5206 and two porters were at the site for more than an hour trying to load the machine onto the trailer. Speaking with this newspaper, one of the porters said that the previous day they had brought some dressed lumber out of Kwakwani. The truck had developed mechanical problems, forcing them to offload the materials at Watooka, a short distance from the site of the accident.
“We went and get deh truck fixed and is come we come back today fuh collect deh wood.”
He said that after they were successful in reloading the truck they drove to Fair’s Rust to a suitable spot which would have allowed them to easily load the Hyster onto the back of the trailer when Ragabeer met his end. The crew was employed by Guyana Timber Products (GTP) where Ricky had worked for over ten years.
Stabroek News caught up with his wife, son, relatives and friends at the Linden Hospital Complex.
They said that at the time they were not aware of Ragabeer’s death since they were only told that he was involved in an accident and they should go to Linden. “We thought dis accident happened somewhere in deh bush,” one of his relatives said. His wife whose name was only given as Dolly was distraught. Ricky was the father of three.
The truck was registered to Ganshyam Mahase.