A teacher and six students of the Augsburg Primary School died by apparent drowning earlier this afternoon after the vehicle they were travelling in ended up in a trench at Burma Road, Mahaicony.
The names of the dead were given as Justin Abel age eight, Asiyah Abel age seven years, Asia Abel age ten years, Martina Persaud, Azidia Fraser age six, Atesha Woolford, age ten years and Shaundel Duke, who was the driver of the vehicle. They are all residents of Burma Residential Compound.
Traffic Chief Ian Amsterdam when contacted by Stabroek News confirmed the deaths but said that it is unclear whether it is “an accident or an incident”. He said that based on the preliminary information the vehicle was just discovered in the trench. He said that an officer has been dispatched to the area to conduct investigations.
According to the information reaching Stabroek News three of the children are siblings.
This newspaper was told that the group was returning from a Mashramani event when tragedy struck. It would appear that they were in the submerged vehicle for some time before it was spotted.
By the time the bodies were pulled out, they were already dead. The bodies are at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital.
