The army corporal who sustained burns on 90% of his body following a fireworks explosion on Saturday died yesterday morning at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
21331 Corporal Seon Rose, 31, of Friendship, East Coast Demerara passed away in the Intensive Care Unit at around 11.50 am.
Two others: Gordon Cornette of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara and Terrance Neil of Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara remain patients at the public hospital. Cornette is a patient in the Intensive Care Unit while Neil is a patient at the Burn Care Unit. The five other injured persons: Trevor Joseph, Atto Cort, Victor Low, Delroy Baird and Isaiah Gordon have been discharged from the hospital, a nurse told Stabroek News.
Rose had been listed on Saturday as the most critical.
A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday expressed condolences to the wife and family of Rose.
President David Granger also expressed sympathy to Corporal Rose’s wife, Tamica Rose, other relatives and friends and the entire GDF fraternity, the statement said.
Terrence Hiles, Rose’s father-in-law yesterday told Stabroek News that they were at the hospital when Rose passed away. He said that prior to his son-in-law’s passing they were able to see him and while he could not speak, he nodded in response to questions asked.
The entire family is shocked by Rose’s passing, Hiles said. He added that the family does not have a clear picture of
what transpired but was told by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) that an investigation is ongoing. He said that the family is expected to meet with the hierarchy of the GDF later this week.
Corporal Rose along with several other ranks of the 21 Artillery Company were preparing for Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary fireworks display when there was a spontaneous combustion at approximately 1.30 pm aback of the Force’s Coast Guard location at Ruimveldt.
Corporal Rose enlisted in the GDF on September 7, 2008 and joined the 21 Artillery Company on November 14, 2008.
Neil’s fiancée Izetta Gilkes told Stabroek News that he suffered burns to his neck, face, hands and foot. She noted that he has complained of severe pains and has been trembling.
Relating what Neil recalled happening, Gilkes said that he was at the back of the truck assisting to offload the fireworks when it blew up.
“He said he jumped off of the truck but landed in the pontoon and he said he had to crawl from where he landed and rolled himself into the river,” she said.
The sister of Cornette, Anya Cornette told Stabroek News that her brother is slowly showing signs of improvement. His condition is stable. He suffered burns to his hands, back and chest. She, too, explained that the family does not have a clear picture of the events that transpired in the lead up to the explosion.
The GDF in a statement on Saturday said four of the men were being treated for burns, while the others sustained minor injuries and shock following a “spontaneous combustion,” which occurred during the preparations for the fireworks display.
GDF Chief of Staff, Brigadier Patrick West has since ordered a Board of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the explosion. The incident also resulted in the cancellation of the annual midnight fireworks display which had been planned for Stabroek Square.
The Guyana Fire Service is also carrying out an investigation.
Granger on Saturday told reporters that he was informed that the explosion occurred as the explosives were being loaded on to barges. “…And something obviously went wrong. One bomb. And it might have triggered a chain effect. So it is not as though there was any sort of carelessness. It might have been some fault with one bomb and it affected another bomb,” Granger said.
