A slope failure caused the pit collapse at Rock Creek, Puruni, which resulted in miner Keon Wilson’s death, according to Guyana Geology and Mines Commission’s (GGMC) Senior Mining Engineer Dharampaul Chandan.
Chandan, who had led the investigations on the evening of October 8, the day the accident occurred, as well as the following day, made the disclosure yesterday when he resumed his testimony at a public hearing that was held by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) probing the miner’s death.
Wilson, 33, was killed around 4.30 pm on October 8, when a mining pit he and others were working in collapsed, causing him to be buried by mud.
Chandan said that from the time he arrived at the site, it was clear to him that slope failure had been the cause of the collapse and the witness statements he collected were in support of his observation.
Chandan’s evidence was that on the night of October 8, he had interviewed Eventon Daly, the dredge owner at the camp where the accident occurred. He had also issued him with a cease work order. He did not take a witness statement from Daly, he told the commission, because statements from dredge owners may be biased. His comment was challenged by the CoI’s Chairman Rear Admiral (retired) Gary Best, who said to Chandan that his testimony appears to be built around assumptions. Chandan then added that taking a statement from Daly would have only been necessary had he witnessed the accident.
Only two witness statements were taken that evening from a Shawn Dey and Royden Roberts and which Chandan admitted were taken in haste as it had been dark when his team arrived at the camp.
Chandan had, however, stated that upon visiting the mining camp the next day, he had met at least eight persons there. When asked why he had not taken any additional witness statements, he said it was because he had already met the minimum requirement for statements needed to complete his report. Upon hearing this bit of evidence, Best opined that having been in contact with at least eight persons the next day, to submit the witness statements of only two individuals was “at best, a weak accident report.” “You acted on the minimum and it’s a death. It’s not simply an accident, but a death,” Best stated.
The engineer had related that it was on the second visit that they discovered there was a mining camp neighbouring Daly’s, which reportedly belongs to his father, Sultan Daly. It was also on day two that they observed there was a second mining pit neighbouring the one where the accident had occurred. In it was a dredge, belonging to Daly’s father, which had been in operation when they arrived.
Chandan said a cease work order was issued after workers were informed that they could not conduct operations at an accident site. Sultan was also advised that his dredge had to be regularised, which he reportedly later did.
The entire area is the property of George Alphonso.
The camps, Chandan estimated, are located within 10 to 20 feet of each other, on the same camp ground, but even so, no witness statements were taken from the workers of the adjoining camp.
In an effort to bring clarity to the evidence being presented, Best requested that Chandan provide a sketch of the Puruni area, including the accident site, the areas the mines officers had visited during the third quarter and the areas he (Chandan) had visited. This sketch was presented to the commission when the session resumed yesterday afternoon. A map of the area has also been requested for use in future hearings.
The terms of reference of the inquiry are to investigate, examine and report the regulatory, monitoring and reporting regimes that govern mining areas specifically at Rock Creek, Puruni; the adequacy and effectiveness of those agencies responsible for the oversight and implementation of these safety operating procedures; review the responsibilities and mechanisms to realise safety operating procedures; and determine whether there was compliance with safety operating procedures.
It is also mandated to investigate the causes, conditions and surrounding circumstance that led to the death of Wilson; determine whether there were breaches of any laws, regulation, rules, and practices that directly led to, or contributed to, the death of Wilson; and ascertain blameworthiness of individuals.
The CoI will continue today from 10 am. After today’s adjournment, it will reconvene on Monday at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court, where it will be held until Wednesday. Next Friday, the commission will travel to Puruni. The preliminary report is due afterward.
