Teen miner dies after pit caves in

A 17-year-old miner died some time Monday morning after the mining pit he was working in near Mahdia, (Region Eight) caved in and buried him.

Clive Bovell of Melanie North, East Coast Demerara (ECD) had to be dug out from beneath the dirt and mud which covered him. He had been working in the interior for six months prior to his accident.

June King (second from left) with one of her daughters (left) and other relatives yesterday afternoon
June King (second from left) with one of her daughters (left) and other relatives yesterday afternoon

Yesterday afternoon the young man’s mother, June Kingston, said she was aware of her son’s accident but explained that she is not satisfied with the explanation given to her.

Kingston told Stabroek News that she received a call from her son’s employer on Monday afternoon informing her that there was a mudslide in the mining pit he was working in, and that he was buried and killed. The woman said she was in disbelief when she was given the news and told her son’s employer what he was saying could not be accurate

The young man’s body was reportedly taken to the Mahdia mortuary and Kingston says she does not know when it is expected to come out of the interior. The woman also said that she requires more information from her son’s employer on what happened before she can come to terms with the news.

Bovell, who was the eldest of four siblings, had called his mother on the morning of the accident to find how she and the family were doing. “He call and ask if everybody doing good”, Kingston recalled.

Bovell would have turned 18 this Friday, and Kingston says he was planning to come out of the interior for a few days after his birthday to celebrate.