Days after being hospitalised at the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Phyllis Archer, a passenger on the boat that caught fire while traveling from Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela to Charity, Essequibo last month, succumbed to her injuries. Hospital sources told Stabroek News that the woman died on March 24.
Archer and her husband, Carl Archer, a visually-impaired man, were passengers of a boat that burst into flames while travelling along the Waini River on Sunday, March 10.
The passengers were en route to Charity, in Region Two from Puerto Ordaz, in Venezuela, when the vessel burst into flames at the mouth of the Waini River, close to Shell Beach in Region One. Five Guyanese and 17 Venezuelans were aboard the boat, police reported.
An injured Archer, 73, had related to the police that she heard a loud explosion and the boat burst into flames. According to the police, passengers began jumping out of the boat, while Phyllis remained in the back seat with her husband. As a result of the fire spreading, she sustained burns about her body. Not long after, the boat began to sink but she was rescued by responders from the Protected Areas Commission (PAC).
Carl Archer and a Venezuelan passenger, identified as Antonio Ramon Wells, went missing after the explosion. However, a body later recovered on the Shell Beach foreshore was identified as that of Wells.
Shortly after, a second body was recovered but was decomposed beyond recognition. It was believed to be that of Archer.
A statement from the PAC had said that a “team at Almond Beach responded to a report of a passenger boat on fire, 6 miles east of our Field Station.”
“Our Team was able to rescue a woman, who was still holding on to the boat. They took her to Mabaruma, and on the way made reports to the Police and Coast Guard. The Regional Chairman was contacted to mobilise (an) ambulance, which took her to the hospital,” the statement added.
According to the statement from the PAC, residents of Almond Beach also went to render assistance and rescue the passengers.
The craft was said to be a wooden boat with two 200-horsepower engines.
