Minced Barama operator…
CHIEF Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Officer, Mr. Yoganand Persaud said, yesterday, that he and a team from the Ministry of Labour want to get a first hand look at the conditions existing at Barama Company Limited (BCL) Buck Hall, Essequibo factory  before making any pronouncement on the death, there, of Jason Anthony Fraser.
The minced remains of the 19-year-old employee was removed from a chipper machine on September 2 after it was reported that the victim, of Kara Kara, Linden, was apparently sucked into the mechanism while operating it.
Persaud told the Guyana Chronicle, by telephone, that he and others will be visiting the Barama operations at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, tomorrow.
He will be accompanied by the Deputy Chief Labour Officer and two Assistant Labour Officers.
Persaud said some officials paid a visit to Barama on Monday but what they found would not be disclosed before the Buck Hall visit because a photograph can only tell so much.
Fraser was the sole operator in that section of the plant where plyboard is manufactured and was last seen alive around 16:30 h on August 30 since when officials could not account for him.
Other workers and management personnel, worried over his sudden disappearance, mounted several searches after it was suggested that Fraser might have gone to another part of the concession.
However, after checks made at the company’s toll gate established that he had not left the complex, a security guard was attracted by a strong stench in the wood trash area, from where the missing man’s clothing and body parts were retrieved.
Head of Corporate Affairs and Forests Planning at Barama, Mr. Mohindra Chand said the management and staff of Barama would like to extend deepest condolences to the family and friends of Fraser who died “as a result of a very unfortunate incident involving one of our chipper machines located at the Barama Buck Hall Factory”.
“Management regrets this horrific incident and has been working closely with the family in this time of sorrow,” he said in a statement to the media.
“At this point in time, investigations are ongoing by the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Labour to ascertain the events surrounding this incident,” Chand stated.
He said Barama will continue to support and cooperate with the investigating institutions and the family to ensure that a full investigation is carried out.
“Once, again, Barama regrets this unfortunate incident and our heartfelt sympathies are extended to the family and friends of the deceased,” Chand said.
Police are at Buck Hall conducting investigations into the tragedy and Fraser’s remains are at Suddie Funeral Parlour, on the Essequibo Coast, awaiting a post mortem examination.
Police Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said investigators were treating the death as an industrial accident because there was no other information that suggested otherwise.
The Occupational Safety and Health Department of the Ministry of Labour was also conducting its own investigations into the incident at BCL, the local subsidiary of the Malaysia-headquartered Samling Global.