Miner’s long-awaited ‘first trip’ to Georgetown turns sordid
Caire Moses was injured when mining pit wall collapsed at Kaituma Backdam
Caire Moses was injured when mining pit wall collapsed at Kaituma Backdam

A 44-year-old gold miner working on a land-dredging operation at Kaituma River Bank, North West Region, prior to February 11, had always longed to travel to Georgetown on vacation.
He never got down to planning specifically what time he would visit, the duration of his stay, or how he would spend his time there.
As fate would have it, however, he was air-dashed to Georgetown on Monday, February 11, for the very first time under tragic circumstances.

A few days earlier, Carie Moses narrowly escaped death when he was pinned by a huge block of mud, when a portion of the wall of the mining pit caved in, severely injuring him.
The miner, who is now warded at the Georgetown Public Hospital, is being treated for a dislocated hip, trauma to the head and back, raw abrasions to his left leg, among other injuries. It is not yet determined whether any nerves have been damaged, but his condition is now listed as stable.

Recounting the horrific experience, Moses told the Pepperpot Magazine that it was just after 13:30hrs on Monday, he was in the pit operating a jetting hose which separates the gold from gravel, when suddenly a huge portion of mud broke away from the side of the wall and literally covered him.

“It hit me from behind and pushed me flat on my tummy. The mud covered my entire body and I was thrown face down, with only my eyes peeping out. My neck, back, hands and feet were all covered, and I said, “Well this is death here!”

“I’m not any big Christian, but I called upon God and asked him to save my life and get me out from where I was trapped, and he did it for me, and now I am so grateful to him,” the miner gratefully acknowledged. He stated that he got his exposure to Christianity in the Roman Catholic Church at his home community, in the North West Region.

The men rushed to his assistance and hurriedly pulled him from under the rubble. “I blacked out under pain. They fetched me a distance of about 12 to 15 miles to the Black Water Landing which has a dispensary, for me to get medical treatment,” he recalled.
They were forced to walk through slippery muddy terrain because it was raining and the mining camp is deep down in the backdam and trucks don’t go there, he related.

Moses said he remained unconscious for the greater part of the journey. Having set out from the campsite around 13:30hrs, they arrived at the Black Water Landing on foot around 21:00 hrs.

Meanwhile, the boss, while en route to Black Water Landing had called the dispensary at that location alerting them, so that on arrival a boat was already awaiting them. That boat would take them to Kumaka in the Mabaruma Sub-Region, some 60 miles away by boat, where an ambulance was already equipped
and waiting to take him to the Mabaruma Public Hospital for admission and treatment, before he was medically evacuated to Georgetown.

Fortunately, the tide was in their favour and they immediately set out for Kumaka en route to Mabaruma, by which time it was 21:30 hrs. Hours later, they arrived at Kumaka Landing where an ambulance was waiting to the patient transported to the Mabaruma Public Hospital, where he was given initial treatment and later air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

It’s been approximately one week since his admission at the GPHC, and Moses has admitted that he is feeling better and is satisfied with the treatment and cooperation being extended to him by the medical and ancillary staff at all levels. Not least, he is grateful to the doctors and nurses who continue to provide efficient and effective medical care, so that today, his condition can be considered as stable.

Further, Moses would like to express gratitude to his boss, Nasiv; his working colleagues who braved the deeply, forested terrain to get him out of the backdam by trekking more than 12 miles on foot bring him to safety, and all others who assisted in getting him to the hospital and keeping him alive.

Moses who has lived all his life in the North West Region said that it is his first trip to Georgetown and that he has always longed to visit the Capital City, but never managed to. “But now sickness bring me, and is not a nice experience,” he admits.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.