AFTER Sunday’s tragedy at the RH Hotel Poolside at 111 Miles, Mahdia/Potaro, in which Carl David Welcome, 30, of Ulverston village, Corentyne, drowned after showing his friends how long he could hold his breath under water, Public Relations Consultant of the RH Hotel & Restaurant, Mr. Christopher Holder, indicated in an exclusive interview with this newspaper that the hotel management approached the brother of the dead man with an offer to render financial assistance for funeral and other arrangements.

Holder explained that the arrangements were discussed minutes after Carl David Welcome had been pronounced dead by the doctor on duty at the Mahdia Regional Hospital.
Holder said that RH Hotel’s Managing Director, Mr. Roger Hinds, spoke to Elroy Stuart and another brother of the dead man (name not given) in extending condolences on behalf of management and staff, his family, and the Mahdia community. He then offered assistance with funeral and other expenses.
Holder noted that the accident was the second for the hotel in two years. The first involved a youngster who was under parental supervision when death struck suddenly.
This newspaper understands that Welcome was seen on Saturday afternoon in the business community, consuming alcohol with colleagues; and on Sunday, before going to visit his older brother who was hospitalised with a snakebite at the Mahdia Regional Hospital, Welcome was again observed imbibing alcohol on the premises of the RH Hotel & Restaurant.
It was also mentioned that the alcohol, evident at the time of his death, was not purchased at the hotel’s bar, but had somehow been smuggled into the premises.
Asked about security arrangements at the hotel, Holder noted that bitter battles had been fought in the past with the hotel’s security, ranks of the Mahdia Police, and miners who visited the hotel to access its swimming facility and broke the rules, which security tried to enforce and at times to maintain order.
Because of this latest incident, management has decided to close the swimming facility until further notice. On reopening, safety rules will be more stringently implemented.
The RH Hotel & Restaurant is the best 31-room, self-contained facility in the hinterland. It is equipped with a swimming pool, bar and kids’ pen for the enjoyment of guests and members of the Mahdia community.