Two workers attached to a Canadian manganese firm were killed when the truck in which they were travelling toppled at Six Miles, near Matthews Ridge, North West District on August 1.
Carlos Hinds
Dead are 22-year-old Carlos Hinds of 9 Area CC Temple Road, Ogle, East Coast Demerara and Hezron Abrams, 26, of Kumaka, Moruca in Region One. The incident occurred at about 21:30h. The two were employees of Reunion Manganese Inc, the mining firm that was only recently granted four prospecting licences to conduct exploration and developmental activities for manganese in the Matthews Ridge area. Two other persons were injured during the accident. They are Owen Lewis and Rajiv Dhanraj. The driver of the vehicle, Edmond Downer, reportedly escaped unscathed.
Information reaching Guyana Times International suggests that the young men were in the tray of a Bedford truck, GMM 9285, which was travelling from Port Kaituma to Matthews Ridge when the accident occurred. Police said in a release that the vehicle was descending a hill when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to topple.
Chief Operations Officer of the firm, Jo Bayah, told Guyana Times International that Hinds and Abrams were among other workers returning to Matthews Ridge after going to Port Kaituma to collect sand. Bayah added that both injured men were taken to the Matthews Ridge Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies were later flown to the city and are currently at the Lyken Funeral Parlour.
According to Bayah, the driver is currently in police custody assisting with investigations.
Meanwhile, Sonia Abrams, sister of Hezron Abrams, told this newspaper that the news of her brother’s death has left the family grief- stricken. She noted that her brother was the family’s breadwinner and was committed to ensuring that his family had all they needed. Describing her brother whom she had last seen in May, Sonia said, “He always kept a smile on his face… he was passionate about his work, (and) he loved a lot of friends.”
Hezron Abrams
The woman noted that her brother worked hard at whatever he did. She said that he had attended the Santa Rosa Secondary School in Region One, after which he had attended the University of Guyana, where he had studied forestry. He was a geo-technician. “My mother called me and said Hezron died in an accident; that’s all we know… a man from the company also called to inform us of his death,” Sonia stated. Hezron Abrams is survived by three sisters and four brothers. He will be buried on August 4. Prior to working with Reunion Manganese Inc., the young man had worked with another Canadian mining firm – Sacre- Coeur.
An aunt of Carlos Hinds, Ms Beaton saidthat her nephew started working at Reunion Manganese Inc on March 10, 2011. Asked to recount what she was told about the incident, the devastated Beaton said she was told Hinds was returning to Matthews Ridge from Port Kaituma with Hezron Abrams when the accident occurred.
She added that information received suggested that the vehicle they were travelling in toppled and pinned the two men, covering them with sand. “The sand covered them, based on what I was told… Carlos suffocated… when I saw his body, I saw sand in his nose; no visible injuries, just sand in his nose, no other injuries,” Beaton added.
The woman said that Rajiv, one of the men travelling in the vehicle at the time of the accident, recalled seeing Hinds unsuccessfully trying to free himself. She revealed that the young man, who had attended the Richard Ishmael Secondary School and the Government Technical Institute (GTI), suffered from asthma.
“He grew up in Linden but had to move because he was asthmatic… he was very asthmatic… for every year Carlos went to school, he spent one term in hospital,” Beaton added.
Hinds’s mother, Gracelyn Hinds described her son as a “very happy child, he had love for everybody.” She recounted her most memorable experiences with her son. “He would call me and say, tell me something about when I was small, and I would tell him stories.” Fighting back tears, the woman told this publication that she had last spoken with her son on Monday at approximately 15:00h. This newspaper understands that the men were pinned under the truck for several hours, until passersby were able to get help to remove them from under the truck.
Over the years, there have been several accidents at the Six Miles Hill.
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