Quick thinking lad saves lives of Parliamentarian, Pastor

Aug 15, 2010 News

A little boy saved the lives of Alliance for Change Member of Parliament, Latchmin Punalall along with her husband Sewnauth Punalall, who narrowly escaped death at Mango Landing last Sunday morning.
Their car was submerged in water in the Essequibo River after the vehicle they were trailing inadvertently backed into them.
Punalall and her husband had embarked on a two-fold trip to Mahdia two Saturdays ago, carrying a quantity of food supplies, clothing, groceries and other household items to aid the recent fire victims of Mahdia.

Sewnauth Punalall points to the level to which the water had risen in the vehicle before he and his wife were rescued

Sewnauth told this newspaper that they crossed safely on the pontoon that was crammed to capacity.
He explained that a few vehicles had in excess of the stipulated weight limit and the road leading to the pontoon dock was submerged in water.
He disclosed that his four-wheel diesel Surf was the last to disembark the pontoon.
Sewnauth said that one of the large pick-up vehicles, which was heavily loaded, was accelerating slowly about 10 to 12 feet in front of him on a slope at the river bank.
“Quite suddenly, the brakes on the vehicle in front of us failed.”
In an instant, the ‘Pick up’ rolled back into Punalall’s vehicle, forcing it into the deep.
He said that he could not reverse nor could he take another route since he was surrounded by water.
Sewnauth said that they desperately fought to get out of the vehicle but could not, since they were unable to open the doors.
The onlookers, he said, instead of going to their rescue, were “laughing and having a good joke about the situation while we continued to drift more and more into the deep.”
Help was obtained when a little boy saw their plight and decided to aid the trapped couple by going to their rescue.
He broke one of the vehicle’s windows with a piece of wood, thus allowing the couple to escape the frightening moment.
They were later helped by some other concerned residents who provided them with dry clothing.
Punalall is charging that the relevant authorities raise the level of the road and improve the ramps at Mango Landing.
He is also calling on the authorities to have well trained and competent people man the pontoons.
The two had planned on returning to Georgetown on Monday last, but the rising water caused them to abort such plans and used the opportunity to hold an open air gospel meeting before returning to Georgetown on Tuesday.

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Local Immigration Officer to handle passport matters in Barbados

A local Immigration Officer is set to travel to Barbados to help deal with immigration matters which have arisen since the death of Honorary Consul Norman Faria.
Faria died in late May this year. Since then, Guyanese in Barbados have complained that no one has been available to address their matters.
As a result, Kaieteur News understands that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to send an Immigration Officer to the island for three days.
He will be based at the Amaryllis Hotel from Monday-Wednesday and would deal with issues such as new passports, passport renewals, and any other matters that could be adequately dealt with.
Guyanese who have relatives and friends in Barbados are being encouraged to let them know of this development.
Faria died in Barbados on May 24 following a brief illness, leaving his shocked family and colleagues behind to mourn his sudden passing.
He had served the interest of the Guyanese community there for more than 16 years.