By Javone Vickerie
Shock continued to grip the communities of Charity and Abrams Creek yesterday as they mourned the loss of six persons, including three children, after Tuesday afternoon’s boat collision near Siriki, in the Pomeroon River.
President Donald Ramotar and members of his Cabinet yesterday visited the families of some of the dead and promised assistance even as they struggled to come to terms with what had happened.
Boat captain Harrinarine Bhagwandin and his nephew Vincent Singh, 40, both of Adams Creek; Velda Rodrigues, 50, and her son Shawn Rodrigues, 14, also of Adams Creek; and Rajkumar Singh, 14, and his sister Amerita Singh, 10, of Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, all died after the boat they were travelling in collided with another boat owned by the Region Two administration. The vessel’s lone survivor, Eli Orlando Rodrigues, is currently a patient at the Charity Hospital.
It is unclear whether a special team will be set up to investigate the worst boating accident in recent years. There was no statement yesterday from the government or the Maritime Administration on an investigation.
The captain of the region’s vessel, which was being used to ferry staff of the One Laptop per Family Project (OLPF) for a distribution exercise, was taken into custody after the accident and there were allegations yesterday that he failed to render assistance after the collision.
At her home at the Charity Housing Scheme, Beverly Narine, the mother of Rajkumar and Amerita Singh, said her children were headed to Abrams Creek to spend Christmas with their grandmother, Violet Singh. Family members and neighbours wept and embraced Narine, her husband and their five other children as she spoke.
“Amerita cry, seh she want go to see she granny. Meh tell she not today but after she beg, meh just let she go. Oh gawd! If meh only meh know she wudda gone and leff meh suh meh wouldnt nah let she go, ow meh daughter,” cried Narine.
“Kumar deh good—meh son—and look how he gone! Ow meh children dead and left meh! Why father?” the mother cried.
‘Everybody pon de boat dead’
Albert Narine stated that when he received the news about the death of his two children, he stood silently at his back door and cried. “Meh son Kumar, meh love wan child, he was like meh right hand. Since meh hear ‘bout it, meh couldn’tah sleep last night. When the boat bring dem in from off the shore, all meh cudda do is cry,” he said.
His wife explained that a man named “Mark” called her and told her that her children had been in an accident and that everyone who was on board the boat they were in had died. “I been on me bed nursing me three-month-old baby Priya, when Mark come and seh if meh hear meh son dead. He seh he neck bruk and everybody pon de boat dead. Ow ma children!” the overwhelmed woman wept.
Narine added that she learned that one of the region’s boats had collided with the boat carrying her children and did not turn back to see if anyone was injured or presumed dead after the impact. She further said that witnesses also claimed that the region’s boat failed to turn around to render assistance, and instead it was persons who were passing in other boats that attempted the rescue efforts.
Stabroek News spoke with one of the 13 passengers who was on the region’s boat and the individual, who asked not to be named, disclosed that the speedboat that they collided with was travelling at a fast pace. The passenger further stated that after the collision many passengers were stunned and then they drove away. None of the persons who were in the region’s boat were reported to have suffered any injuries. The Chairman of Region Two, Parmanand Persaud was on the boat.
Beverley Narine said she believed that her daughter could have been saved if she had gotten assistance from any passing boat or even the one that had accidently collided with them. “After meh see meh children body get tek off the boat, meh scream, ‘Look what dem do to meh children!’ I couldn’t even watch them, ow ma children dead,” she added.
Rajkumar was a student of the 8th of May Secondary at Charity and his sister Amerita was a student at the Charity Primary School. Their mother described them as always attentive and willing to do work. “Anything meh ask Amerita fah do she obey; meh son was a good son never give meh problems,” she said.
‘I was supposed to be there’
Mark Rodrigues said he learnt of the deaths of his wife and son from someone who informed him that they were involved in an accident on the Pomeroon River. He later learnt that his stepson, Eli, had survived the collision.
According to him, his wife died from massive head injuries, which he saw as the bodies were taken off the boat. “I was supposed to be there with them but I had something else to do yesterday,” Rodrigues said.
“Is meh wife and son ya know, but meh done cry. Meh got wan fah look after now but meh feel real sad about wah happen,” the man added.
‘Stay strong’
Meanwhile, President Ramotar travelled to Abrams Creek and met with the families of Bhagwandin and Vincent Singh.
At Singh’s home, a small number of relatives and friends gathered in the yard and met with Ramotar along with other members of the Cabinet, which included Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Transport Robeson Benn and Minister of Labour Dr Nanda Gopaul, among other officials.
Ramotar encouraged the household to “stay strong” and offered to be of assistance if they needed help.
At Bhagwandin’s home farther down the river, more family members and neighbours awaited the president’s arrival. However, a bridge for entrance to the yard collapsed with the president and personnel from the Government Information Agency (GINA).
Persons nearby quickly pulled the president and other persons from the collapsed section, which further caved in as persons walked farther into the yard.
The president was then lifted by his hands and feet into another boat, which navigated farther up the damaged bridge and he safely stepped off. No one was seriously hurt in the mishap.
Ramotar told Stabroek News that when he heard about the accident, he was stunned for a bit because of the young children involved in the collision. He, however, promised to take care of the families who lost members of their home.
Bhagwandin’s mother, Eunice Bhagwandin, who was in tears, said her son was the sole breadwinner for her household and was always hard working. “He is mah only son, now he gone and dead. Wah meh gan do now? Me son gone! He use to tek care of me and he family, he was the backbone of awe family; he never speed or drink,” she said.
The dead man’s common-law wife, Karen Harris, who is a teacher of the Santa Rosa Primary in Region 1, told Stabroek News that minutes before the accident occurred, she called him and he told her to call him back in a few minutes.
Her subsequent calls went straight to voicemail and it was not until some hours after that she was contacted by a man, who told her that her husband had perished in an accident on the Pomeroon River. She also said that she was unable get to the scene of the accident due to fact that there were no means of transportation to take her there.
