The Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Department is investigating the fatal accident that occurred as a result of land caving in at Cowing Backdam, Upper Mazaruni River, Region Seven earlier this month.
The deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Bertram Willie, a dredge owner of Wisroc Housing Scheme, Linden, Region Ten.
A release from the Ministry of Labour said that investigations revealed that on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, around 12:45 pm, Willie was operating his dredge at the Cowing Backdam worksite when a portion of the land fell into the river. This knocked him into the water. An alarm was raised, and nearby miners found the motionless Willie pinned underwater by a tree stump.
Using a nearby dredge, his body was pulled from the water and then transported from the mining area to the Imbaimadai Health Post, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The investigation is being conducted by Naipaul Persaud, Occupational Safety and Health Officer of the Ministry of Labour, in collaboration with Sekou Walters, Senior Mining Engineer of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
