-after New Providence bridge collapses
Volunteers spend two hours freeing trapped man
By Melissa Charles
A Friendship man was killed and his colleague seriously injured after the only access bridge to New Providence, East Bank Demerara collapsed sending the ‘Ready Mix Cement’ truck they were in overboard.
Dead is Ramesh Ramratan of 38 Church Street, Friend-ship, East Bank while Imran Hassan of 80 BB Eccles was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital and was treated for burns, which he sustained from a blow torch used during his rescue, among other injuries.
Dozens of volunteers fought for almost two hours to rescue the men who were pinned under the truck which belongs to Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL) and which weighed a total of 20 tonnes with the cement mix it was carrying. A sign next to the bridge had stated that the structure could take only 5 tonnes.
And while the Neighbour-hood Democratic Council overseer said that the sign was there up to Sunday residents charged that it was removed a long time ago.
According to an eyewitness who had crossed the bridge seconds before it collapsed, the truck had almost cleared the bridge when the side of the structure that was considered the weaker section collapsed, sending the truck overboard. He said that he heard screams for help but when he and other persons went to the rescue they saw that the men were pinned under the massive truck. Within minutes a crowd was drawn to the scene including workmen from the construction site at Frank Rajpaul, a resident in the area where the cement was headed.
Moneshwar Kaso, supervisor at TPL at Providence Ready Mix Department said that they received a call about the incident and he immediately rounded up a crew to send out.
A length of chain was attached to the cab of the truck and hooked up to a front end loader which was dispatched to the scene. At this time it was already established that Ramratan had died.
The rescuers fought for more than an hour, without any success as the ‘loader’ tried in vain to pull up the truck. Many persons were heard lamenting the fact that a crane was needed to effectively lift the truck and as the minutes ticked away many wondered whether the second man was going to come out alive. Other persons in the large crowd were heard exclaiming with disbelief at the absence of the fire service which they believed should be equipped to handle such situations. A fire truck did arrive – some 10 minutes after both men were removed from under the truck.
Residents were also vocal about the lack of necessary equipment to deal with an emergency situation on the part of TPL and the authorities.
At around midday one of the cab doors was removed after being repeatedly torched, but Hassan could still not be removed since the truck itself was pinning his lower body.
Rope was attached to a truck which was at the other side of the bridge, and the cab was tugged at from both directions. Hassan was then pulled out to loud applause from the large crowd which had gathered. He was sped away to the Georgetown Hospital in an ambulance that was on standby.
When Stabroek News visited the Ramratan residence grieving relatives had already gathered and were mourning their loss. Most heart-rending were the loud wails coming from the man’s 9-year-old daughter. Screaming for her father, the child cuddled in the arms of her mother who was also inconsolable. The woman tearfully recounted that she had spoken to her husband around 10:30 yesterday morning when he called to ask if she had eaten. “I tell him yes, ow meh husband never mek accident yet, how much years he driving,” Vidya Ramratan lamented.
Meanwhile residents of New Providence who use the bridge have told this newspaper that they had approached the Ministry of Public Works in relation to the rebuilding of the bridge, sometime back. They said that an arrangement was made for them to raise some of the money and the ministry had promised to provide the rest. One resident said that when they went back to the minister he informed them that he was dealing with Carifesta, and the bridge was not a priority now. Minister Robeson Benn later told Stabroek News that this is “absolutely not true.” The minister who visited the accident scene yesterday afternoon said that the bridge is in the jurisdiction of the NDC but that he had told residents when they had approached him sometime earlier this year that his ministry would try to raise the money at some point. He said that he had emphasized however that the bridge had not been a part of the money allocated to public works in the national budget and as such it would take some doing to gather the sum.
The minister who said that the incident is “regrettable and unfortunate,” added that the preliminary estimate for the bridge was placed at some $8 million.
He said further that discussions were held on the matter up to last week and it is unfortunate that persons chose not to adhere to the weight limit for the bridge.
He added also that it is his hope that people would use this as an example and exercise due care and diligence in similar situations. He added that construction companies should show caution and check the infrastructure their heavy vehicles have to traverse.
The New Providence residents are now forced to park their vehicles on the Mocha access road since the bridge was the sole entry point to their community. The NDC overseer has said that lights will be placed in the area to afford security and the Lions Club compound at the head of the Mocha access road will also be available for parking.
