Three miners who were missing since Sunday were found yesterday.
Anthony Van Sertima, 44 and Gavin Van Sertima, 20, of Buxton and Keastan Lewis, of South Vigilance, East Coast Demerara had reportedly gone into the Omai Backdam on Sunday in a bid to locate mining land and had gotten lost. According to Anthony’s wife, Jolyn Moore, they had called to say that they were lost and as such the authorities were alerted.
“We tried to keep in contact with them but after the phone battery died on Tuesday we started to worry,” Moore said. However, Moore was given relief after the three men were found early yesterday. Moore heaped praised on Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, the police force and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) officers who assisted in finding and rescuing her family.
Moore related to Stabroek News that she was told by her husband, who is currently at a camp in Omai, that after they had gone to search for the land, darkness had caught up with them. This caused them to lose track of the trail they had taken. After they could not find the trail again, they stayed at the location and waited. “After they saw some airplanes flying over the area they suspected they were searching for them and then they heard the noise from the police and the GGMC officers and went towards it,” Moore said.
Broomes also expressed her pleasure with the collaboration of the police force and GGMC officers in finding the men.
“I had a talk with the wife of one of the gentlemen and she’s happy and excited and I am happy to know that we could’ve been of assistance,” she said yesterday, stating that she understood Moore’s pain and was extremely concerned about the three men. She said that while it is easy to get lost in the jungle since everything looks the same, it was very smart that they stuck together and found themselves back at a certain point and also getting into contact with their families.
