Miner drowns in interior

Apr 24, 2013 News

The body of Steven Hohenkirk, 23, of Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara was pulled from a river in the interior, at approximately 10:00h on Monday.

Dead: Steven Hohenkirk

The young man, who is said to be a miner, reportedly met his demise last Saturday as he was returning from a rendezvous with a group of friends. Hohenkirk is said to have drowned while swimming across a river to access a mining camp in the interior location.
Kaieteur News understands that it was necessary for the group to swim across a river to access the camp but due to the heavy rainfall, the river had swollen and the currents were strong, thus making it extremely difficult for the miner to swim against it. Hohenkirk, who was in the interior for the first time to work reportedly managed to resurface twice.
Further reports suggest that the dead man’s colleagues made efforts to rescue him, but failed in their bid since his body was already swallowed up by the waters.
A search party was immediately sent out, but efforts proved futile. The search subsequently continued over the weekend, and led to the discovery of the body on Monday morning.
A source close to the family says that Hohenkirk’s close relatives will rather not comment at this juncture, as they are still traumatised by their loss.
Steven Hohenkirk was described an adventurous person who was not afraid to experiment.
His body was transported to Georgetown where it is scheduled to undergo a post mortem examination.