Ricardo Nandlall, the 18-year-old labourer at the Forrester Lumber and Building Complex at Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, who was critical after sustaining injuries when a co-worker turned on a cement mixer while he was inside, is recovering.
The mixer the teen was inside cleaning when it was accidently switched on
This is according to Regional Commander Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, who said the teen is still hospitalised but is now responding and recovering quickly. He also added that the matter is still being investigated in collaboration with the Labour Ministry.
“We are still pursuing that investigation jointly with the Ministry of Labour, Occupation Safety and Health, and the Guyana Police Force. It is a workplace accident…”, he said.
It was reported that when the accident occurred, the injured teen’s co-worker was unaware that he was inside the machine, cleaning it.
Nandlall, of South De Kinderen Line-Top, West Coast Demerara, who sustained injuries to his abdomen and had his intestines protruding, is currently battling for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Based on reports, a doctor from the Leonora Cottage Hospital contacted the Police Station and requested that a rank visit the institution in relation to the matter.
Ranks were unable to speak with the victim, and as such proceeded to the worksite at Stewartville, WCD. There, the proprietor was questioned by the investigators, and he revealed that the teen had gone into the mixer to clean it, but in the process, a 22-year-old operator who was unaware that the young man was inside the machine, turned it on.
As soon as the machine came on, Nandlall began to scream. Upon realising that he was inside the machine, the mixer was turned off and several other co-workers rushed to his assistance, pulling him out of the machine.
They then took him to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, from whence he was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
The co-worker who turned on the cement mixer was subsequently detained by the Police for questioning. Investigations are still ongoing. (G9)
