A 58-year-old pork knocker of Pakera, Matthews Ridge, North West District (NWD) died after a mining pit collapsed on him on Monday, according to the Guyana Police Force.
The incident occurred at Highwood Backdam, NWD and the dead man has been identified as Christopher Bumbury.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Bumbury and his co-worker, Hilton Ward, were digging gravel at the bottom of the mined out pit. The Police, in a statement, related that the pit measured approximately 15ft in width by 20ft in length with a depth of 22ft.
While digging for gravel at the bottom of the southern wall of the pit, it collapsed on Bumbury trapping him. Ward escaped and sought the help of two other men, identified as Paul Bumbury and Wilfred Bumbury and they began the process of pulling Christopher from under the mud.
The effort lasted approximately 45 minutes after which his lifeless body was extracted. He was pronounced dead at the Port Kaituma District Hospital.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted soon.
