A supervisor at the Edward B Beharry and Company Limited, Mandela Avenue location, died on Tuesday in a worksite accident involving a pressurized air hose.
A police report stated that Mark Gomes, 32, of Long Pond, Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara, was at the time of the incident, investigating the source of a whistling sound. At about 5:50pm Gomes was supervising the transfer of flour from a pressure tank mounted on a truck to a silo. He climbed onto the back of the truck to further investigate the sound when the hose connected to the tank and the silo came loose causing the cover to hit Gomes in the face, knocking him to the ground. Gomes was picked up and taken to the Woodlands Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival
His body is presently at the Memorial Gardens Parlour awaiting a post-mortem examination while police are in the process of reviewing CCTV footage of the incident as part of their investigation.
Meanwhile, a post on the Ministry of Labour’s Facebook page stated that the ministry is currently investigating the fatal accident. According to the post, “Reports reaching the Ministry of Labour indicated that the deceased was investigating a hissing sound which emanated from the flour tanker when the cover of the left side pipe blew off hitting him and causing him to be knocked off the tank.”
Senior Occupational Safety and Health Officer of the Occupational Safety and Health Department of the Ministry, Roydon Croal, said an investigation into the circumstances of the accident that took place on Tuesday has commenced.
The post also stated that the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton offered condolences to the family and colleague of the deceased.
Edward B Beharry and Company Limited also expressed its condolences to the family members of the deceased.
A statement issued by the company said “Last evening [Tuesday] there was a mishap at our Mandela Avenue Factory, where an employee, Mark Gomes, was injured and immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention.”
Gomes was described as a friendly individual.
