Two employees of Reunion Manganese Incorporated were on Monday evening killed and at least two others were injured after a truck they were in toppled at Six Miles Matthew’s Ridge, North West District (NWD). The truck driver has been detained.
Dead are Carlos Hinds, 21, of Lot 9 Area “C” Temple Road, Ogle, East Coast Demerara and Hezron Abrams, 26, of Kumaka, NWD. Rajiv Dhanraj, 19, has sustained injuries to his face, ribs, left leg and arms and Michael Hinds, 24, suffered head injuries. Both were air-dashed to the Georgetown Hospital for further medical attention.
Police said in a brief statement that the fatal accident occurred around 9:50pm. The two victims, according to investigations, were in the tray of motor lorry GMM 9285, which was descending a hill at the time, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it toppled. Carlos Hinds and Abrams were rushed to the Matthew’s Ridge Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival. When Stabroek News arrived at the Georgetown Hospital just after midday, the injured were at the X-ray department. Dhanraj recounted that he was sitting at the back of the truck, while Hinds was seated in front. He said that they were transporting sand from Port Kaituma to the company’s location at Matthew’s Ridge. Dhanraj said that the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and it toppled. He also stated that the truck was not speeding at the time of the accident.
Stabroek News contacted the Canadian mining company’s headquarters yesterday morning, but an official refused to divulge information, saying that a press release would be dispatched to the media sometime later in the day. In the release, Reunion later said the Hinds and Abrams were employed by the company from March 9 and June 21, respectively, and were willing and competent workers. They were part of a work party that went to Port Kaituma to collect sand and were returning to Matthew’s Ridge when the accident occurred.
The bodies were flown to the city via Ogle Airport and post-mortem examinations are expected to be performed today, the release said. The company also confirmed that the truck driver Edmond Downer, who is also an employee of the company, is in police custody at Matthew’s Ridge, while noting that the circumstances surrounding the accident are being investigated.
“The families have been notified and the company wishes to express their sincere condolences for the loss of their loved ones,” the release also said.
Stabroek News yesterday afternoon spoke with the Clement Hinds, who said that his son went into the interior to work for the first time about two weeks ago.
He worked as a sampler. The elder Hinds said that he last saw Carlos a week ago, when he made a trip to Matthew’s Ridge on business. The man related that at the end of his trip, his son accompanied him back to the airstrip and that was the last place he saw him.
The elder Hinds said that Carlos was his only child. He received news of the tragedy around midnight on Monday via his sister-in-law, who paid him a visit to deliver the message. Carlos was due to return home in another six weeks’ time.
Last month, four persons, including a father and son, were killed instantly at Matthew Ridge’s after the lumber truck they were travelling in turned over and landed in a ravine.
On June 26, Fabian and Trevor Abrams of Matthew’s Ridge and Deon Baptiste of Port Kaituma, North West District were pinned by the logs and rescuers were unable to reach them in time.
The accident occurred at Papaya Turn, called ‘Hill Seven,’ around 5pm.
