Barama near  settlement with sawmill accident victim’s relatives
Barama Company Limited says it is closer to reaching an agreement with the relatives of the man who was caught and minced by a chipper machine while working at the company’s sawmill last August.
Jason Anthony Fraser met his gruesome death on Monday August 30, 2010, while operating the sawmilling machinery at the company’s operations at Buck Hall on the Essequibo River.
“We had a meeting with the family facilitated by the Ministry of Labour. We are near to a settlement but we have to have all parties involved,” said Neil Chand, Barama’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Forest Planning, yesterday.
He said that a follow-up engagement among the parties will see the conclusion of the talks and the decision, which would be communicated to the family. The company has been meeting with the family for some months since the gruesome incident.
According to reports, Fraser was said to be the sole operator in that section of the plant where plyboard is manufactured and was last seen alive around 16:30h on August 30.
Persons on the scene recounted that 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, when persons checked the company’s toll gate they realised that he had not left the complex. At that point, a security guard became aware of a strong stench in the wood trash area, from where the missing man’s clothing and body parts were retrieved.