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Antigua remembers plane crash victims
– Guyanese family not present
Antigua (Caribarena Antigua) – “Everyone who knew her was pleased to have been associated with her,” said Coswell Duncan, father of Jamaica-born Annya who was one of three people killed in the October 7 FlyMontserrat crash at the V C Bird International Airport.
He was speaking at a candlelight vigil held at the T N Kirnon School on Friday to remember the victims, organised by the newly-formed group Care Bearers.
Guyanese grandmother, Sandrama Poligadu who died in the recent Antiguan plane crash.
The memorial was attended by Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, Civil Aviation Minister John Maginley, Guyanese Consul Robert ‘Bobby’ Reis, friends and family among others.
“…She was a very special child to her mother … And like her mother, I too can state with confidence and sincerity that she (Annya) was a person of impeccable character. She had been involved in education from the time of her birth until the plane crash which ended her life tragically,” Duncan said at the emotion-filled gathering that lasted just over two hours.
Annya was celebrating her 29th birthday the day of the crash, and was on her way to Montserrat where she taught at the Montserrat Secondary School for more than two years.
“…I can also say that Annya’s common personal honesty, forthrightness and courage are coveted attributes.
She was an excellent Teacher and a person of integrity, as well as a no-nonsense person. She was also an honorable young lady who took pride in her work; very jovial at times,” Duncan said.
He went on to sing a rendition of “God and God Alone” and later broke down in tears.
Family members of another victim Captain Jason Forbes, 31, were present at the gathering including his 4-year old son, his pregnant wife, and his mother.
“Jason Forbes was the only person I really knew and it broke my heart … It felt like I had to do something,” said Tassian Brown, spokesperson for Care Bearers.
“Everybody was just like family. They cried together, they hugged together. It was beautiful … I never saw anything like that,” she said.
Brown said the family of the third crash victim, 57-year-old Sandrama Poligadu of Guyana, could not be present.
Last week family members were wondering about the return of the body to Guyana.
Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer was the first of the estimated 150 people present to light a candle.
He thanked the group for organising the activity that, he said, provided the opportunity to remember the “good and positive things” about those killed.
“To have died in such a tragic way is not something that one looks forward to but as I said, God is in the midst of things,” the country’s leader said.
The Montserrat-bound nine-seater twin-engine plane crashed soon after take-off. A preliminary report by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority found there was ‘significant amounts of water’ in the starboard engine fuel system.
FlyMontserrat has since been grounded following a second mishap this time in Montserrat that caused an aircraft carrying seven people to veer off the runway at the John Osborne Airport. No one was injured.
Investigators from the United Kingdom Air Accident Investigation Branch are leading that inquiry.
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