A 20-year-old miner, trapped in a mining pit when the wall collapsed at Aranka in Region 7 on Wednesday, is lucky to be still alive.
Thanks to the valiant efforts of working colleagues who were on the scene, the victim, Akino Smith, of Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara, was rescued and taken back to the mining camp where he was given first-aid and transported out of the mining location yesterday.  He is currently warded at the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital where is being treated and is receiving saline, colleagues said.

Smith’s perturbed supervisor, Rondell Grenada, and other colleagues, yesterday waited anxiously outside the Accident and Emergency Unit, hoping for a good word from his mother who was at his bedside.

Grenada said that the incident occurred shortly after 17:00hrs on Wednesday. He recalled that the crew had just completed a day’s work and were preparing to leave when the mining wall collapsed.
“A group of about five of us had already climbed out of the pit and were at the top preparing to leave the worksite.  Akino was still in the pit, pulling the jet hose, when suddenly this huge portion of mud caved in on him.”  He said Akino was partially covered, and on seeing this, his workmates rushed to his rescue and used the same jet hose to cut through the mud and rescued him.

Even though they were not in a position to say the exact extent of his injuries, some of which could be internal, Grenada recalled that his friend sustained external abrasions and was crying out for pain.

Yesterday morning he was transported out of Aranka to Bartica by boat and quickly evacuated to the city for admission to the hospital.
Over the last few years, several such incidents have occurred at mining locations in the hinterland – most of which have proved fatal.  Contacted by this newspaper following up on some of these incidents, the Ministry of Labour promised to institute tighter controls to ensure the safety of persons working in mining pits.