A COMMUNITY, relatives, friends and public officials yesterday paid their final respects to six-year-old Azidia Fraser and ten-year-old Atesha Woolford, two of the children who were killed along the Burma Road two weeks ago when the car in which they were travelling ended up in a canal.The bodies of the children were first opened for viewing at the Jerrick Funeral Home at Paradise, East Coast Demerara, before making their way to the home where the two young girls lived in Burma, Mahaicony, for further viewing.

The bodies were then transported to Number 9 Village, West Coast Berbice for funeral service, before being returned to Belladrum West Coast Berbice for burial.
The white caskets of the two girls were carried in one hearse from the parlour to the other locations, before finally being taken to the burial ground.

Once the church service had been completed and the remains taken to Belladrum, a decision was made to open the caskets in the church yard of the burial ground where the girls’ bodies were interred.

Teachers, education officials, regional officials and Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn were among the hundreds who showed up to pay their final respects.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the body of eight-year-old, Martina Persaud was cremated after a moving funeral service and tributes which reflected her life, which ended with the two girls’ tragically on that dreadful Friday afternoon.
The three children who have since been sent to their final resting places were killed along with three other children and their school teacher after the car the teacher was driving ended up in a canal along the Burma Road as they were returning from a school Mashramani observance.

Relatives of the deceased were visited by President Donald Ramotar, Opposition Leader, David Granger, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, and Transport Minister, Robeson Benn, as well as officials from the Guyana Teachers Union following the news of the unfortunate happening.

A post-mortem performed on the remains of the children and teacher last week Tuesday confirmed that they all died by drowning.

(Leroy Smith)