Two men who were injured in Wednesday’s grenade explosion may lose sight in their right eyes.
Tufa Hinds, 31, of Cummings Lodge and Clayronn Alleyne, 30, of Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke were each going about their day’s work when they were caught in the blast radius. Each man sustained injuries to the right eye and they both underwent surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Hinds, from his hospital bed, yesterday said that he was “thankful for being alive.” An environmental officer and civil engineer, he said that he was heading to work Wednesday morning. “I was crossing the road from Demico to go get a bus to go to Herstelling when all I hear is an explosion and I felt my eye burning,” he recalled.
Around 10.30am on Wednesday, an explosion rocked the Stabroek Market square, killing one man and injuring 18 others. The dead man, who was known as ‘American,’ was holding a grenade when it exploded, taking with it his left hand and partially damaging his face.
Many of those injured were treated and sent away the very day.
But Hinds and Alleyne underwent surgery to remove fragments from their eyes and they were later admitted to the hospital.
Surrounded by family and friends at the hospital, Hinds pointed out that vision in his right eye was blurred. “According to the doctor, I’ll have to wait two to three weeks for the eye to heal to be able to determine if I can see again,” he said.
Meanwhile, Alleyne, who was in the eye care ward, said that he was standing on the corner where the grenade was set off. A conductor with a Route 42 (Georgetown/ Timehri) bus, Alleyne said he was soliciting passengers at the time of the blast. He said all he heard was “boom” and he felt his eyes burning.
He recalled that the man that lost his life would be frequenting the area “doing the usual stuff, odd jobs like sweeping and cleaning.” On the morning of the explosion, he said, he noticed ‘American’ sweeping up in front of a stall. Shortly after, the explosion was heard.
Alleyne says he cannot see from the damaged eye and may be due for another surgery by weekend.
