-Barama supports full probe
The father of Jason Fraser, the Barama labourer whose remains were discovered on Thursday in a wood shredder he operated at the company’s Buckhall operation, has viewed his death as suspicious.
A distraught James Fraser told Stabroek News yesterday that the explanations provided to him regarding his son’s demise were not “adding up” and he noted that there was “something suspicious” about the way his son died. “I cannot see a man deh at work Monday, didn’t turn up two days after and nobody didn’t see what happen,” the man said. He added that another of his sons, who works at Buckhall with an individual contracted by the Barama Company, became worried on Monday after his brother did not turn up at his quarters that afternoon.
Fraser said the company informed him that his son was seen around lunch-time at the canteen in the area and later left for the veneer plant where he operated two switches to control the machine in which his body was later discovered. The man said that he could not fathom how his son could have ended up in the machine, as he would have had to climb over the device since there was a small, narrow passage through which the boards being fed into the machine would have to pass. The man buried his son’s remains on the Essequibo Coast yesterday.
On Thursday evening, when asked whether the young man’s demise was seen as the result of an industrial accident, an official at Barama noted that technicians advised that “it is physically impossible” for someone’s body to pass into the machine, as wood being discarded would have to pass through a narrow passage before being chipped by a high powered blade. Another official stated that all the safety features on the machine were intact and as such it is unclear how Fraser’s body entered the device.
Fraser’s father stated yesterday that two fast moving conveyor belts led to the machine. The one positioned closer to the ground is believed to be the one with which his son came into contact. He said that it was only after himself and his other son began to frantically search for Jason “and kick up a storm” that officials at the company decided to open the machine to retrieve his remains. The police were also contacted during this time, as blood was seen behind the machine.
The man said that he is still puzzled as to why no one at the company checked to see if his son was close to the machine after he was reported missing, since, according to him, trails of blood in the vicinity were evident when he travelled to Buckhall on Thursday.
‘Full investigation’
Mohindra Chand, Head of Corporate Affairs and Forests Planning at Barama Company Limited, yesterday said that management regretted the “horrific incident” and was working with the family following its loss. “At this point in time investigations are ongoing by Guyana Police Force, Guyana Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Labour to ascertain the events surrounding this incident,” Chand said in a statement. “Barama will continue to support and cooperate with these institutions and the family to ensure that a full investigation is carried out,” he added.
Meanwhile, an official within the Ministry of Labour told this newspaper yesterday that the incident is being investigated thoroughly by the unit and it is already in possession of “certain” information surrounding the incident. He said that the wood shredding machine, which was being operated by Fraser prior to his disappearance on Monday afternoon, was not being used since the incident. This is to facilitate investigations by the ministry. The official also noted that the operations of Barama Company were examined a few days prior to the incident via
spontaneous inspections usually undertaken by the ministry.
Stabroek News understands that police at Wakenaam, in the Essequibo River, are conducting investigations into the incident and it is unclear along what lines such investigations are headed.
Around 7 am on Thursday, Fraser’s co-workers, while operating the shredding machine (used to shred unused wood) observed that the contents of the machine “were backing up” and a foul odour emanated from at the back of the machine, an official noted.
It was then suspected that the man’s remains were in the machine and the police as well as the teen’s parents were called in. When the lawmen arrived, the machine was opened in the presence of the man’s brother and colleagues and their worst fears were confirmed.
Fraser had been working with the company for around two months. Co-workers noted that he appeared to be comfortable with his working environment and displayed no suicidal tendencies. A company official noted that the police collected relevant information from Barama but he could not say if the man’s death was treated as suicide or a murder.
