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Minister Broomes visits miner injured in Venez. attack
Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes on Saturday visited one of the miners who was wounded when armed men attacked his camp on July 19.
Joel Paton, 22 years old, sustained serious injuries during the shooting but is in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Minister Broomes said she visited the miner to wish him well and get a firsthand account of the incident.
“Miners’ lives are so at risk, it is so dangerous…what he endured during the travelling and terrain to receive medical attention. But I just thank God that he is alive and he can tell this story,” Minister Broomes said.
According to the Police, Paton’s mining camp, located in the Imataka backdam three miles outside of Guyana in neighbouring Venezuela, was attacked by gunmen who were shooting indiscriminately. Three of Paton’s co-workers died as a result. Police investigations are ongoing.
Minister Broomes encouraged miners working in the interior, both in and out of Guyana, to take necessary precautions to ensure their safety. “Don’t allow gold to trap you to your death,” the Minister cautioned.
Those slain were Vernon Eudoxie, 51; Cologne Solomon, 23 – both of Fitzburg, Port Kaituma – and Samuel Moses, 19, of Four Miles Oronoque, Port Kaituma, North West District.
Sources who saw the bodies said that Eudoxie, a father of four, was shot in the stomach and right leg. Solomon’s body bore a bullet wound to the right temple, while Moses was shot in the chest.
The two injured were identified as Joel Paton, 22, Supenaam Creek Head Mission, Essequibo River, and Andre Pilgrim, who was shot in the hand.
Minister Broomes listens to injured miner Joel Paton
Paton who was shot in the groin, right thigh and right leg, was transported from the Port Kaituma Hospital to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
The camp that came under attack is operated by a Brazilian, who has given police at ‘F’ Division a statement.
A survivor who spoke to Kaieteur News said that the gunmen fled without taking anything. He stated that the killing stemmed from a prolonged dispute of the mining claim and ownership of an excavator.
A police release stated that that the miners were part of a team employed by a Brazilian Miner, operating a land dredge at Imataka Mining Backdam, Venezuela, when four armed men “with foreign accents,” entered the camp and began shooting indiscriminately. The shooting resulted in the death of Eudoxie, Solomon, and Moses, while the injured Joel Paton and several other co-workers fled into the bushes.
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