A Port Kaituma miner was killed yesterday morning after the walls of a mining pit he was working in at an Arakaka backdam location, caved in on him.
Dead is Errol Bennett age 38. His body was later transported to the Port Kaituma morgue where a post-mortem examination will be done.
His brother Hector related that a workmate told him that around 9:45 am “mud fell on him and covered him”.
He said that Bennett and his workmate used a small pump to remove water from the pit. After that exercise was completed, the workmate decided to check on the persons working in a nearby pit.
According to Bennett before the workmate could have reached the other pit he saw water “spilling up” and immediately knew that something was wrong. The workmate recounted that by the time he arrived back at the pit, Bennett had already been covered with mud and with the help of other persons took about 25 minutes to dig him out.
Hector said that when removed from the pit, his brother was breathing but later died while being transported to the Arakaka Police Station.
Bennett, he said, had been working as a pit man since 1997 and never expressed any fears. He said that he last spent time with relatives at Christmas and only returned to work about two weeks ago.
Hector said that his brother will always be remembered as a friendly, jovial and free-handed person.
He leaves to mourn his father, Victor and seven siblings.
Over the years many miners have lost their lives while working in the pits. Authorities have been urged to sensitize miners on safer mining practices.
According to the mining regulations, the depths of mining pits should not exceed 40 feet. In many cases miners are not clad in safety gear.
Miners have been buried alive at many interior locations including Aranka, the Mazaruni area and Mahdia.
Last October, Devon Barry, age 22, of Lot 22 Two Friends, Ann’s Grove; Deonarine Singh known as `Chubby’, age 25, of Lot 17 Ann’s Grove and Elson Singh, a 47-year-old father of three of Lot 1, Two Friends village died when the mining pit they were working in at Aranka, Cuyuni caved in.
A fourth miner, identified as Robert Adams who was in the pit at the time was saved.
Reports are that the miners were in the pit around 11 am when it suddenly started to cave in. The four were buried by the mud and sand but quick work by other miners resulted in Adams being pulled to safety.
A probe of the incident by the Ministry of Labour, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) found that there was gross negligence. However no one could have been held responsible as the operator was among the dead.
Relatives of Singh confirmed that he was indeed the owner of the operation.
