REGARDING the news item of the drowning of Ray Manram at the rapids near Marshall Falls, it was a terrible, avoidable tragedy. People were simply negligent and the authorities need to find out who was responsible for the fatal accident. The people who were towing the dredge caused the fatal capsizing of the boat.  They are the negligent party and they must be held accountable for the loss of life as well as valuables, including the loss of the boat and engines belonging to Captain  Balkarran, who I don’t know and never met, but I am told has never lost a boat and he knows the area well.

Manram needlessly lost his life because those towing the dredge did not follow safety precautions and procedures or common sense guidelines.  There was no way of Balkarran knowing that there were ropes attached to the dredge below the water and he steered his boat directly into the ropes. It was like an ambush.

The dredge operators put everyone’s life in danger. It is the moral and ethical, if not also legal, responsibility, for those doing the dredge towing to warn off anyone in the area not to come close. 

The dredge towing party said they had placed an individual on a speed boat at the bottom of the rapids to warn off excursionists going up the Falls.  Obviously, that person failed in his duty.  The problem in Guyana is there is a don’t care a damn attitude about doing things from many people.  They don’t think about consequences and make no emergency plan if something goes wrong.  There need to be serious consequences for negligence.

There needs to be a thorough investigation of what went wrong at Marshall Falls – why wasn’t Captain Balkarran warned of the dangers when going up and returning from the rapids of the dredge being towed? 

Were there red or yellow flags?  Was there a huge sign saying caution rope below? The police should have held up those individuals connected with the dredge and the speed boats towing it and quizzed them.  People must be held accountable (negligent homicide if the law allows) or else the same mistakes will be repeated again and again.  In the US, all those connected with the tow boats and dredge would have been quizzed.

On a related note, I queried a few individuals from Bartica about the dangers posed by Marshall Falls.  People making the trip up and down the rapids said the greatest danger to the boats are rocks. The falls are very shallow at most points and it requires a skilful captain, someone who knows the falls well, to steer the boat.
It is sad to read that a person, out on a joy trip, lost his life. My heartfelt  sympathy to the family.