MINISTER of Labour Joseph Hamilton on Sunday said that search-and-rescue operations for a Region 10 worker from Bauxite company BOSAI, who was reportedly trapped after the mining area in which he was working collapsed on Saturday.

Providing an update to members of the media about the situation, Minister Hamilton stated that the incident occurred in the wee hours of Saturday. The missing man was identified as 59-year-old Neptrid Hercules, who was slated to retire later this year after dedicating some 40 years to the mining industry.

As a result of the incident, he noted that the Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Health and Safety Department, along with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) went to the mining site where the incident occurred and has been on site since then.

The teams, Hamilton said, have been in the area since Saturday morning and officers from both entities have been monitoring the situation and interviewing persons about the circumstances surrounding the accident.

“They worked on to very late last night because of the concern, the safety concerns it was agreed that a suspension of the search and resume this morning,” he said, while adding that the search was still ongoing when he made the address on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of the area in which the incident occurred, the minister indicated that there are deep valleys and steep hills in the area. Given the topography, he said excavation efforts did not suffice and as such, metal detectors were brought in to improve the search efforts.

Up to the suspension time on Saturday evening and continuation of the search on Sunday morning, the teams, he said, have been unsuccessful.

While inaccurate information in relation to the suspension of the search on Saturday night has been put into the public domain, Minister Hamilton clarified that safety concerns for the search- and-rescue teams led to the suspension.

He added, “The last information that came to me via my people that are up there, is that the attempt is being made to see if perhaps GGMC can make a piece of equipment, some high-tech equipment to see if that can help with the search.”

Meanwhile, he noted that the preliminary information suggests that the equipment along with Hercules might be buried more than 100 ft in the mining pit.

“So the search continues for Mr Hercules and the search will continue. The Ministry of Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Department will continue to participate in the exercise,” the minister assured the public.

The operation, he emphasised, remains a search-and-rescue mission and members of the team on the ground will continue the search.

The Labour Minister also said the authorities continue to conduct investigations to be able to have a report as to the circumstances surrounding the incident. Importantly, Hamilton also stated that a review of the location in totality will be done so as to understand how safe or unsafe the area was.