THE remains of Guyanese blind cricketer Gordon Sandiford, who passed away in St Lucia last week, returned home on Tuesday evening. Sandiford, who went to St Lucia as part of the Guyana team for the Regional blind tournament, passed away in an ambulance, hospital-bound, after he had to be helped out of the water during a beach outing.
The outing came about after the match between Guyana and the Windward Islands was called off on account of heavy rains. The players were then invited out.
Receiving the body that came aboard a Caribbean Airlines flight, Sport Director Christopher Jones quickly draped the remains of Sandiford in the Golden Arrowhead, adding that “This is a demonstration of our commitment to our athletes and of course as you know, Gordon Sandiford left Guyana a few weeks ago with members of the blind cricketers association to represent Guyana.
“Essentially himself and his colleagues left as ambassadors and he has fallen. This is our way of demonstrating to all and sundry that the Government of Guyana recognises Gordon as an ambassador.”
The government had absorbed the cost of returning Sandiford’s body to Guyana and Jones indicated that they recognise the importance of athletes that represent Guyana, adding that they are looking to move the sport to a new standard.
Reports from the Island indicated that Sandiford “encountered difficulty” at the beach and had to be helped out of the water.
He was frothing through his mouth and nose; he was not talking and breathing.
The paramedics after performing on him felt a pulse and immediately transferred him to the ambulance which left for the hospital.
A later post-mortem indicated that Sandiford died as a result of an earlier meal being stuck in his throat. (Stephan Sookram)