The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is yet to receive a report on the electrical connection at the Secret Villa Guesthouse where 58-year-old Beula Browne died after suffering an electric shock last month.
GPL Managing Director Bharrat Dindyal had told Stabroek News that an emergency crew from the power company had responded to the report about a sparking wire at the guesthouse at Land of Canaan on the day the woman was electrocuted, but had been unable to investigate because they had been denied entry to the premises.
Dindyal had said that the company had contacted the Government Electrical Engineer and requested assistance since that official was allowed to investigate such incidents.
Employees on duty at the guesthouse had denied that there was an electrical problem saying that nothing had happened there. Dindyal had said that GPL had the authority to check the meter at premises, but was restrained from going beyond that point, and the power company could not investigate because of this.
Last week Dindyal said they had advised the government engineer and had offered him technical support to carry out an investigation at the premises. However, he could not say if the investigation had been done as the company was yet to receive a report on the issue from the engineer.
Meanwhile, Dindyal said he was still to ascertain whether the owner of the guesthouse was indeed an employee of the power company. Stabroek News has been reliably informed that the man is employed with GPL and that he will be retiring shortly.
An autopsy performed on the body of Browne revealed that she died as a result of cerebral haemorrhage. The post-mortem report, prepared by pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh said another factor that had given rise to the woman’s death was hypertension, while a contributing factor was burns sustained to her fingers.
Browne, who was the manager of the guesthouse, died after she was reportedly electrocuted on the premises some time on March 22. She was said to have been responding to a neighbour’s call about a sparking wire that runs to the guesthouse when the incident occurred. An electricity pole in the area, which is outside the guesthouse, burst into flames some time after midday on Sunday following a loud explosion, and Browne was called out by a neighbour and alerted to the sparking wire following which she reportedly went to the main switch of the guesthouse, made an attempt to turn it off and was electrocuted. She was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre nursing burn injuries to her hands and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she died.
The staff accompanying Browne to Diamond had informed doctors that she suffered from high blood pressure, but omitted to say that the woman had sustained an electric shock, reports said.
Browne was unable to speak while she was at the hospital, this newspaper was told. The police were called in to investigate the incident and a probe is ongoing. Management at the guesthouse remains tightlipped on the incident. An employee had told Stabroek News that she had no knowledge of any person being electrocuted on the premises, adding “that was not here.”
