A 49-year-old employee attached to Gaico Construction and General Services Inc. died yesterday afternoon after he was pinned by an excavator at the Guyana Shore Base Inc. compound, Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Dead is Royston Souvenir of Canal No. One Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton confirmed that the Ministry’s Occupa-tional Health and Safety Department is investigating the workplace accident. The investigating officer is Dwain Vyfhuis.
The accident occurred around 12.30 pm.
Police spokesman Assistant Commis-sioner Royston Andries-Junor in a press release said that enquiries revealed that Souvenir was standing at the back of an excavator, when one of his co-workers who was unaware that he was there, turned the machine hitting him in his chest.
Souvenir fell to the ground. He was rushed to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Stabroek News understands that Gaico Construction and General Services Inc was sub-contracted by Guyana Shore Base Inc. to do construction work. It was tasked with driving piles for an ongoing project.
In an invited comment last evening, Hamilton told Stabroek News that as mandated by law, the accident was reported to the Ministry.
He said a team of officers from the Occupational Health and Safety Depart-ment was dispatched to the scene. However, upon their arrival, Hamilton said efforts to access the scene proved futile since the employer and his workers were at the hospital. As such, he said the officers will return today to obtain additional information.
Hamilton added that a report on how the accident occurred was submitted to him and he is engaging Souvenir’s employer as the investigation continues.
In a brief post on their Facebook page, Gaico Construction and General Services Inc. expressed condolences to the family and friends of Souvenir.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the Gaico Construc-tion employee who tragically lost his life today. Our prayers and support goes out to his loved ones during this time,” the post read.
When Stabroek News visited the worksite yesterday afternoon, a number of workers were present. However, they were tightlipped about the incident.
At the home of the dead man, his family was finding it hard to come to grips with his death. His sister, Andrea Singh said that she received a call from her husband who informed her that Souvenir had been involved in an accident at his workplace.
Unsure about the seriousness of what took place, Singh said she and her husband rushed to the hospital.
“When I got there (hospital) they just take him out the ambulance. So we rush in and the nurse said to me ‘just now we gone give you a word’. So I walk out back. But I realized to myself something was wrong,” Singh said.
Shortly after, she said she was approached by the doctor who broke the news to her. “The doctor called me and said ‘your brother is dead’. I said ‘that’s not true’. He said ‘yes, your brother is dead’”, Singh recalled.
According to Singh, she was told that the accident took place just as Souvenir was wrapping up his lunch break.
“They said to me, apparently some wall…They did just coming off of lunch and he walk behind the excavator and apparently he turn and the back pin him to the wall. That’s what they said to me,” she added.
Souvenir had been employed with the company for a number of years.
An autopsy is scheduled to be conducted tomorrow.
