The Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Department is investigating the fatal accident that occurred as a result of land caving in at Cowing Backdam, Upper Mazaruni River, Region Seven earlier this month.
The deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Bertram Willie, a dredge owner of Wisroc Housing Scheme, Linden, Region Ten.
A release from the Ministry of Labour said that investigations revealed that on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, around 12:45 pm, Willie was operating his dredge at the Cowing Backdam worksite when a portion of the land fell into the river. This knocked him into the water. An alarm was raised, and nearby miners found the motionless Willie pinned underwater by a tree stump.
