Fatal accident at BOSAI: Report handed over to Labour Minister

Following the horrific death of BOSAI employee Neptrid Hercules, a ten-member team was appointed to conduct a formal investigation into the incident after the plot of land he was working on caved in and swallowed him and a bulldozer on March 11.

On Wednesday, the findings of that probe was finally handed over the Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton.

The findings of the report were not released to the media and the Labour Minister claimed that he has not read its content as yet. However, he noted that the recommendations will be implemented.

Fifty-nine-year-old Neptrid Hercules, a resident of Wismar, Linden went missing in the wee hours of March 11 after a plot of land he was working on swallowed him and the bulldozer he was operating at BOSAI.

Days after, the man’s decomposed body was found at the company’s Montgomery Mines in Linden, Region 10 following a massive search and rescue operation. Rescuers pulled his body from inside the bulldozer.

Hamilton on Wednesday said the recommendations are paramount for the prevention and improvement of the mining industry.

“My hope is that it [the inquiry] will serve as an all-encompassing recommendation to police the issues that are before us so that we don’t have to through the agony [again],” Hamilton said.

He explained that it was not only the family of Hercules that was impacted by this tragedy but the entire country.

The investigation into the incident was concluded ahead of time and the inquiry was chaired by veteran engineer, Charles Ceres. Hamilton called for coordination and collaboration among government agencies that regulate the mining industry, noting that information must be shared so as to prevent future incidents.

“We must share information with each other because at the level of the Occupational Health and Safety, they might pass things that are relevant to GGMC or to EPA…we cannot, not pay attention to the totality of the health and safety of the workers,” the minister said.

He added that the technical committee will have to work to act in this way going forward.

In presenting the report, Ceres said Hercules’ accident adds to many other mining tragedies that have occurred and the findings must be used as a template to avoid future events. More importantly, he said that the investigation provided assurance that the legislative framework in Guyana is adequately structured to prevent incidents of this nature.

He warned that, “Industrial establishments such as BOSAI must adhere to that framework without being prompted and the relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Labour, EPA and GGMC must be proactive in keeping the enforcement of that framework.”

Other members of the investigating team include representatives from the Ministry’s Occupational Health and Safety department, the Guyana Geology and Mines, the Environment Protection Agency and the BOSAI company.