Labour Ministry probing ‘land cave’ incident that killed dredge owner

The Ministry of Labour on Thursday said it is investigating the circumstances that caused the death of a 60-year-old dredge owner at Cowing Backdam, Upper Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), earlier this month.

Bertram Willie, who resided at Wisrock New Housing Scheme, Linden died on March 6 during a mining accident after a portion of land caved into the Mazaruni River while he was extracting gravel.

He was submerged in the water and later found motionless while pinned under a tree stump.

He was then transported from the mining area to the Imbaimadai Health Post where he was pronounced dead.

He was subsequently flown to Georgetown, and the post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to drowning.

On Thursday, the ministry said the investigation is being carried out by Naipaul Persaud, Occupational Safety and Health Officer, in collaboration with Sekou Walters, Senior Mining Engineer of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).