Three days after Bosai bulldozer operator, Neptird Hercules was reported missing in a mining pit collapse, the man and his machine were found yesterday at the East Montgomery Mines in Linden.
Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton told Stabroek News that Hercules’ body was found within the equipment in a sitting position between 12:00 to 13:00 hours yesterday. He added that the equipment was first found by the magnetometer that was being used by Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) personnel and the body was then discovered within the equipment.
Neptird Hercules, a 59 year-old bulldozer operator, went missing last Saturday at about 4 am after the mining pit in which he was operating collapsed covering him with debris and soil.
Hercules’ son, Kester Hercules, told Stabroek News yesterday that he was satisfied with the efforts made to recover his father’s body. The distraught son explained that his father worked at Bosai on a shift system. He explained that his father’s body was spotted inside the equipment. Kester, who is the eldest of six, related that his siblings are devastated.
Hamilton informed that the investigation launched by the Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) Department will be extended now that the body has been found. A thorough investigation would be carried out on the site as soon as it is retrieved. He further stated that a number of reports were received within a day that will be evaluated before the preliminary results are published. The OSH not only interviewed officials of Bosai but began conducting interviews with other employees at the company.
Bosai Minerals Guyana on Monday suspended all mining operations to ensure that the search and rescue operation for the bulldozer operator, Hercules, could continue without interruption. This was done following a visit to the company by Prime Minister, Mark Phillips; Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill; and Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
The mining company issued a statement detailing the sequence of events leading up to the unfortunate incident. According to the release, the incident occurred at 4am on Saturday in the East Montgomery Mine. Hercules had worked the night shift on Friday March 10, operating a Caterpillar D9T bulldozer on an overburden dump which suffered shear failure resulting in the machine and Hercules being covered by overburden material.
Recovery efforts were launched on Saturday with the deployment of two hydraulic excavators, combined with manual probing using steel rods and a number of metal detectors. Hercules’ immediate family was informed by Bosai management and brought to the site. The relevant agencies were informed, including the Ministry of Labour, GGMC, and the Guyana Police Force. The release added that efforts to locate Hercules on Saturday proved futile, and technical assistance was sought from the GGMC that day. On Sunday, the GGMC supplied a magnetometer along with technical staff to assist in the search operation.
Orin Barnwell, an employee of Bosai Minerals, told media personnel during the visit by the Prime Minister and ministerial team that following the incident, the aforementioned methods employed to find the body were unsuccessful. However on Sunday, GGMC’s magnetometer registered signals indicating the presence of a magnitude of metal mass. According to Bosai’s release, the metal mass was measured at approximately 15 meters below the surface. Excavators were then dispatched to open up the area properly so that the metal mass could be identified.
