Three miners are now nursing head injuries at the George-town Hospital after they were pitched from the tray of a truck along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway yesterday afternoon.
The accident occurred around 5pm and is blamed on the driver of the truck, who pulled suddenly brakes, pitching the men out of the tray of the vehicle. The driver escaped unhurt.
The injured men are Amus Cornelius, 44, Cleveland Frances, 50, both of Bartica, and a third man who was only identified as ‘John’ (only name given by his colleagues), from the North West District.
Frances sustained injuries to his head and left eye, which he believes he lost, while the other two suffered head injuries. Both men were in excruciating pain as they waited in triage area of the hospital to see a doctor yesterday afternoon.
Cornelius and Frances told this newspaper that they left their mining camp at Issano, in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region and they were on their way to Linden when the accident occurred. They said that the driver of the truck was consuming alcohol earlier in the day and as a result he was drunk when it was time to drive.
As the truck proceeded along the highway, the driver braked suddenly, causing the men to pitch out of the vehicle tray. Cornelius told this newspaper that he could not recall what transpired after that, since he was unconscious and only regained his senses while he was at the hospital.
Frances on the other hand was still traumatised and stated that he could not catch his senses as he made a call to his family to inform them.
They also stated that they are unaware of the whereabouts of the driver after the accident but noted that the police are investigating the matter.
