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Another boat calamity… Several injured, captain critical after boat collision in Canje River
(Kaieteur News) – Several persons, including a team of healthcare workers and four children, were injured on Tuesday afternoon after two boats collided in the Canje River, leaving eight persons hospitalised.
The incident was confirmed to Kaieteur News by health officials in Region Six.
Critically injured: Claymont LaFleur, 38
According to information received, one of the boats was transporting a team of medical personnel returning from a health outreach in Bara Cara, located along the upper Canje River. The other boat, which reportedly sustained more extensive damage, was carrying several passengers, including children, bound for Bara Cara Village.
Sources told this publication that at least one of the injured was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for specialised treatment. He was identified as 38-year-old Claymont LaFleur. The remaining injured were admitted to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital with injuries said to be non-life-threatening.
Police said the collision occurred at about 2:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Pat Walla, Canje Creek, Berbice. It involved an unregistered boat and a private vessel transporting a government medical outreach team.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the private boat, captained by a 35-year-old man of Kimba, departed Bara Cara at about 1:00 p.m. with eight medical personnel on board. While travelling through the Pat Walla area, it collided head-on with the unregistered boat.
The second vessel, powered by a 40-horsepower Yamaha outboard engine, was captained by LaFleur, a security guard of Bara Cara. Relatives told Kaieteur News that LaFleur’s boat was carrying eight passengers, including several children, to Bara Cara.
LaFleur’s relatives alleged that the other captain was negligent and travelling at a high speed.
“We left 8 Mile around 1:00. We were travelling on our left side, and the driver wasn’t paying attention ahead. With the speed he was coming, maybe he was looking behind or on his phone, I suppose. We diverted a little into the grassy area, and he did the same,” LaFleur’s wife, Renisha Amsterdam, told this publication.
LaFleur’s damaged boat engine due to the impact.
She said the other captain appeared to attempt to avoid the collision at the last moment but was unable to do so, resulting in the two boats crashing into each other.
The collision left several people injured, including four children between the ages of one and seven.
All of the injured were taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where they were treated by doctors. Due to the severity of his injuries, LaFleur was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. His family said he remains in a critical condition and is undergoing surgery.
The seven other injured passengers remain hospitalised at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, while police investigations into the incident are continuing.
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