Gold mining pit collapses on poor Amerindian woman miner

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:02 by GxMedia

Baramita is located in north-western Guyana where the red indicator is seen

An Amerindian mother of five, eking out a living by mining for small amounts of gold, was severely injured when a mining pit collapsed on her in the North West District (NWD).

Rita Henry,36, was air-dashed Wednesday night from Baramita, Region One to Woodlands Hospital where she remained in a semi-conscious condition.

The Carib-speaking woman was being spoken to by her sister at her bedside to assist doctors and nurses in communicating with the injured woman. A Computed Tomography (CT) Scan and other forms of diagnosis were due to be done.

Relatives said a wall of the more 20-foot deep pit collapsed around 4 PM while the woman was ‘punting’ with a batel in search of small quantities of gold. Excavators were used to remove the dirt that buried her.

In some mining districts, generous miners allow Amerindians to ‘punt’ for very small quantities of gold worth at least GUY$5,000 to assist them in buying basic necessities.

The woman was flown to the city aboard an Air Services Limited (ASL) flight that landed shortly after 8:30 at the Ogle International Airport.

Baramita, is a community in the Barima-Waini region of northern Guyana standing about 20 miles west of Matthew’s Ridge, at an of altitude 99 metres or 328 feet.