North West miner dies after Sand Hill cave-in

A 37-year-old man died on Thursday afternoon after a mining pit he was working in caved in at Sand Hill backdam, Cuyuni River.

Dead is Omar Oselmo, of North West District, Region One.

Director of the Guyana Police Force’s Corporate Communications Unit Mark Ramotar confirmed the cave in, which occurred around 18.00hrs.

He said Oselmo’s body was found in an old dug out pit next to a wall of sand which appeared to have collapsed.

According to the police, enquiries revealed that around 16.00 hrs, Oselmo and his co-workers finished working for the day and retired to their camp.

About two hours after, Oselmo returned to the worksite to ‘punt’ when the walls of the pit suddenly caved in, trapping him.

Oselmo’s co-workers heard him screaming and rushed to his assistance but they did not see him.

As a result, they began digging after which they found his body beneath the sand.

The police were summoned. Oselmo body’s was examined and there were no visible marks of violence.

A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted this week to verify the cause of his death.