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Pomeroon River tragedy…Police, DPP will decide whether Reg. Chairman, captain are charged – Minister Benn
Did a senior regional official and others fail to render assistance to victims of the tragic boat accident on the Pomeroon River back in December that left six persons dead?
Four of the six victims
The subject of the horrific crash came up in the first sitting of the National Assembly for 2013, yesterday, with A Partnership of National Unity (ANPU) asking whether charges are likely to be instituted against Region Two Chairman, Parmanand Persaud.
Persaud, who became Chairman in January 2011, was one of the passengers in a boat owned by the Region Two administration that was travelling on the Pomeroon River on December 18 when it collided with a smaller passenger boat and resulted in the death of six persons.
Yesterday, Transport Minister, Robeson Benn, disclosed that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has written to the police on the crash with its recommendations for charges.
Investigations are also continuing by that department into the incident, he said, in response to questions from APNU’s Joseph Harmon, who is the coalition’s Shadow Minister of Public Works.
Benn disclosed that while MARAD was conducting its own investigations, the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions are now handling the criminal aspects.
Kaieteur News reported last week that the captain of the Region Two vessel and the Regional Chairman refuted allegations that the vessel left the scene without attempting to rescue the victims.
Benn and Harmon expressed distress over the incident yesterday.
According to the Minister, it was clear from the preliminary investigations by MARAD that the two boats were on the same side of the river.
There are indications also that the captain of the regional vessel could have taken measures to avoid the collision, the Minister said. Instead, the bigger boat “rode” over the other one.
Among the breaches found was that the captains failed to maintain a “proper” lookout while operating the vessels; to pilot the boats at a safe speed, and failing to render assistance.
According to Benn, had there been the recommended covers that speedboats are supposed to install, the damage and loss of lives may have been less.
Benn also noted that it is a fact that speedboats are installing bigger engines – moving from 40 horsepower (HP) to 150HP. He made it clear that possible charges against Persaud would be a decision for the police and DPP.
The Region Two vessel and a smaller boat carrying the captain and six passengers collided in the Pomeroon during a downpour.
Boat captain Harrynarine Bhagwandeen and passengers Velda Rodrigues, 50; Shawn Anthony, 14; Rajkumar Singh, 14 and his sister Amerita Singh, 10; and Vincent Singh, 42 were all killed. Eli Orlando of Adams Creek was the lone survivor.
Relatives of the victims have accused the captain of the vessel owned by the Region Two Administration of failing to render aid to the victims.
Region Two Chairman, Parmanand Persaud
The Regional Chairman had told Kaieteur News that the boat operator discharged his passengers and tried to help the victims. However, they claimed that by then, two other vessels had gone to the rescue.
The captain also claimed that Bhagwandeen swerved into his path and should have been travelling on the other side of the river.
A female passenger from the Region Two vessel had told Kaieteur News that she heard Regional Chairman shout: “Captain look out, there’s a boat coming!” seconds before the two boats collided.
The woman said that the captain swerved and Bhagwandeen’s boat struck the side of the vessel she was in. She said she believes that she and the other passengers would also have perished had the boats collided head-on.
She said that the Region Two vessel was “moving fast” and the boat heading towards them also appeared to be speeding.
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