Canefield brother and sister pass away within days of each other, ministry says expert group to probe

Vishnu Mohabeer and Arianna Mohabeer
Vishnu Mohabeer and Arianna Mohabeer

A brother and sister of Canefield Settlement East Canje have passed away within days of each other from what appear to be natural causes.

The Facebook page `Everyone From East Canje Berbice Guyana’ last night offered condolences to Kumar and Rehanna on the loss of their children Ricardo and Arianna Mohabeer.  The two were pupils of the  Cumberland Primary School.

Reports say that the girl passed away yesterday. Her brother had died four days earlier.  It is yet unclear what might have caused the death and various causes including dengue fever are under examination.

The Ministry of Health today issued the  following statement:

MOH investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two children in New Amsterdam

(Georgetown- April 18, 2024)- The management and staff of the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital are deeply saddened by the death of 9-year-old Arianna Mahabir who was admitted on Monday, April 15, 2024, in critical condition. While preparations were being made to transfer the patient to the GPHC the child suffered a cardiac arrest and died in the Intensive Care Unit.

Prior to the admission of the 9-year-old, her brother, Ricardo Mahabir, was brought into the hospital on Sunday, April 14, 2024, with no sign of life.

Both cases are presently being investigated and have engaged all relevant authorities.

A post-mortem has been conducted on the first child and another post-mortem will be conducted on the second child.

The management and staff of the New Amsterdam Hospital express our profound condolences to the family of the two children.  

We remain committed to the welfare of the family and committed to providing all assistance to the family during this difficult period.

The Ministry of Health has been appraised of the circumstances and all relevant reports have been forwarded to the Chief Medical Officer.

The Ministry of Health has instructed that an expert group be dispatched to the New Amsterdam Hospital to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two children.