DOZENS of shop owners and entrepreneurs in Kwakwani are counting their losses after a goods transport truck lost balance on a pontoon and fell into the Upper Berbice River.
Information reaching this publication indicated that the incident occurred in the wee hours of Sunday morning, while the pontoon was attempting to cross the Berbice River with the truck.

The truck, which was loaded with dry goods and hardware supplies for shop owners in Kwakwani, toppled after the driver tried to balance it on the pontoon.
The truck was the only vehicle on the pontoon crossing at the time and the driver managed to swim safely ashore.

Upon hearing about the tragedy, scores of residents of Kwakwani and neighbouring villages rushed to the scene and tried to get the driver out of the water.
A heavy-duty machine was used to haul the truck out of the river. Though spoiled, residents tried to save some of the goods and supplies including cement, chicken feed, rice, sugar and bleach.

One Kwakwani shop owner Samuel Harris estimates his losses at $700, 000. He lost four bales of cement that was in demand at the time in Kwakwani.

Even though the cement was retrieved, it was hard and had to be thrown away.
The driver of the truck is reportedly recovering from the ordeal at home. Some residents are claiming that the truck was overloaded at the time of the accident.

Calls were made for stricter monitoring to be enacted by authorities on vehicles using the pontoon to cross the river. The driver and the pontoon operator are assisting the police with their investigation.