Paying a flying visit to Guyana to condole with the victims of a Caribbean Airlines accident here and to inspect the wreck, Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar tonight said it was a “miracle” that no one had died.
Persad–Bissessar was emotional and in obvious shock when she visited the crash site this evening along with Minister Robeson Benn and several of her cabinet members. The Caribbean Airlines plane ran off the runaway just after 1 am today and broke into two pieces.
She later said at a brief press conference at the airport that it is a miracle that no one died, stressing that she empathized with the victims. She said that the incident would more than likely have an impact on travel to the Caribbean before pointing out that together as Caricom nations, that could be overcome.
Up to late this evening four persons remained hospitalized and according to Benn the most serious injury thus far are broken legs. He told reporters about two hours before Persad-Bissessar arrived that two persons had such injuries.
According to Benn, arrangements were made for the removal of the plane’s tail to avoid any obstruction on the runway so that operations could return to normal. This evening the plane was still lying in the same spot it had landed early this morning and was being guarded by joint services ranks.
The cockpit recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered and it is hoped that their evaluation would reveal what caused the crash.
Stabroek News saw several passengers at the airport this afternoon. One woman who had a broken leg was being moved around in a wheel chair while another woman had a bandaged hand.
Passengers said that the incident has left them fearful of flying again. They said that prior to the crash the pilot said nothing to indicate that something was wrong. One family said that they had to hire a car to take their injured relatives to a private hospital as little help was given on the scene. On their way down to the city, they passed an ambulance in the Soesdyke area.
