Another person who was injured in the catastrophic boiler explosion at Hack Rice Mill in Region Five on the afternoon of March 14, has shared his traumatic experience.
Sukra Harrygobin, 25, of Bath Settlement, whose foot had to be amputated at the ankle, told Stabroek News yesterday that he was discharged from the Balwant Singh Hospital a week ago and will be unable to work for at least six months as he will be confined to bed until he fully recovers. He added that concerning compensation for the time not being able to work, he is yet to speak to his employer as he is unable to move around at the moment, but expressed certainty that his employer will compensate him, once he reaches out to him.
According to Harrygobin, he could not say exactly what happened the day the boiler exploded, but recalled that on March 14, he was working on a boiler in his section while another co-worker was working at his, in another section. He relayed that he then heard a sound like, “Boo-doom!” He said that something exploded and came through the zinc sheet then hit him. “All I know is that my foot was numb and I was rushed to the hospital, that’s all I recalled.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Ramlochan called ‘Bobby’, 20, of Bush Lot Village who is currently in the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) Burn Care Unit (BCU) because of the seriousness of his burns is still recovering. His mother, Liloutie Ramlochan, confirmed with this newspaper yesterday that the employer did reach out to her and agreed to pay all expenses incurred due to the explosion followed by his weekly wages to compensate him for the time he will not be working, until he fully recovers. She added that neighbours also stepped in and supported her financially for which she is grateful.
In an earlier report, Liloutie recalled that at the hospital, her son related to her that on the day of the incident, his co-worker had switched shifts with him. He was working the night shift which starts around 3 pm and he arrived after 3 pm and was called to his employer’s office to collect his pay, which he took and gave to another co-worker for safe keeping. Anthony said that while he was heading to his work station to begin work, he heard a loud noise, and immediately after, realised that he had fallen down. Whilst on the ground, a heavy iron object fell on him, pinning him and preventing his escape. At this point he passed out and when he regained consciousness, he started to scream. This alerted his colleagues who came running and freed him from the heavy object that was on top of him. She said her son along with the two others who were injured were transported to the Fort Wellington Hospital.
Liloutie disclosed that her son’s condition was regarded as serious by the doctor at the GPH as he had sustained burns to his back all the way down to his buttocks, the sides of his legs, the sides of both of his arms, and his face. According to the doctor, he will remain in BCU until he fully recovers. The woman also said that she was unaware that the Ministry of Labour is investigating the matter but she is waiting to hear from the owner regarding compensation for her son and thankful he is still alive.
The Ministry of Labour last Tuesday said that it is continuing its probe into the “catastrophic” boiler explosion that injured three young men on March 14 at Hack Rice Mill, Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, Region Five.
Also injured was Farad Uddin, 19, an operator of Blairmont, West Bank Berbice.
The mill is operated by Fiaz Abdool Hack, 47, a businessman of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara.
