Several in Essequibo boat mishap stable at GPHC

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 20:59 by GxMedia

At least four of the nine persons seriously injured in an early Saturday morning jet boat accident on the Essequibo River have arrived in the city for additional treatment.

No one died in the accident involving the vessel named Odessie and owned by Barakat Speedboat Service.They are Charles Richards,40, one-year old Jonathan (only name), Devon Williams, Enrique and Sandra (only names available). Two males sustained fractured right legs and Sandra’s left leg was also fractured. She was transferred to a private hospital.

Their conditions were listed as stable, said a usually reliable hospital source.

Richards, who sustained an injury to his neck, told reporters that the jet boat departed Parika about 4 AM and one hour later he was awakened after the boat slammed into the western bank in the vicinity of Wolga.

“People end up going forward. Who were at the back end up tumbling forward in the boat,” he said.

He estimated that that there were at least 13 persons aboard the Bartica-bound boat.

Demerara Waves Online News was told that investigators from the Maritime Administration were already in the area. They were expected to verify whether the boat was being piloted by an unlicensed captain who was due to hand over to a licensed and experienced colleague to take the vessel through the Mazaruni Rapids.

Meanwhile, one of the paramedics threatened an HGPTV Nightly News cameraman to break his camera because he might have recorded the arrival of the patients inclusive of his image. At one stage, the paramedic refused to assist Sandra to enter a car to transport her to a private hospital because the cameraman was recording.