…President visits injured ranks, assures relatives of best possible care
…GDF launches Board of Inquiry into incident

By Navendra Seoraj
HOURS before Guyanese ushered in the country’s 50th Republic Anniversary with the ceremonial fireworks, pyrotechnics exploded at the Coastguard base at Ruimveldt, leaving three soldiers critical and five others injured.

The eight ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF)’s 21 Artillery Company were preparing for the firework display, which was scheduled for Saturday night, when there was “spontaneous combustion” at approximately 13:30hrs. Reports are that the pyrotechnics were aboard a truck when it exploded. The combustion resulted in a number of pyrotechnics being destroyed and rendered un-useable.

The injured ranks have been identified as Seon Rose, Terrence Neils, Gordon Cornette, Isiah Gordon, Trevon Joseph, Victor Low, Atto Cort and Delroy Baird. Subsequent to the incident, the soldiers were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The forces’ Medical Officer, Major Nigel Langhorne, who was at the hospital ensuring the injured ranks get the best medical care, told reporters that one soldier sustained burns to 90 per cent of his body while two others were receiving treatment for injuries to their bodies. The remaining ranks were being treated for shock and minor injuries.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President David Granger, who visited the site of the incident and also interacted with ranks and their families at the hospital, said: “The Defence Board and Defence Force will ensure that every possible measure is taken for the recovery of the injured soldiers. “It (the incident) is unexpected because of the level of training and professionalism of the soldiers who are involved.”

The President said the soldiers, who were involved in the incident, are experts who have done fireworks overseas. They have been doing this for years, he said, adding that some of those soldiers even did fireworks during Barbados’ 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations, in 2016. In addition to the ranks being experts, President Granger said the GDF applies the best safety measures to ensure that soldiers’ lives are not in jeopardy, so the force is trying to ascertain the cause of the explosion. “The ammunition was imported from overseas…I spoke to the fire chief and the Chief-of-Staff and they are both going to conduct investigations to find out what happened,” said President Granger.
In speaking about a possible scenario, the President said: “one bomb and it might have triggered a chain effect…it is not as though there was carelessness…it might have been one bomb and it affected other bombs.”

He said both the GDF and the Guyana Fire Service will conduct investigations into the incident. “…The chief fire officer and the Chief-of-Staff are both going to conduct an investigation to find out what happened. As far as we are concerned, we always apply the best safety measures to ensure Soldiers’ lives are not in jeopardy and we are trying to get to the bottom of it,” President Granger assured both the media and relatives of those injured.

“The Defence Board and the Defence Force will ensure that every possible measure [is in place] for the recovery of the injured soldiers. I have spoken with the families. It is something which is completely unexpected, particularly because of the level of training and the soldiers involved,” the President said.

BOI LAUNCHED

Army Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Patrick West, said he has ordered that a Board of Inquiry (BoI) be conducted to get to the bottom of this and to also determine what measures can be taken to ensure that there is no reoccurrence. “As far as we know they were preparing for the display when they encountered some challenges and there was some form of spontaneous combustion which caused these detonations,” said Brigadier West, adding that the incident was unexpected because the soldiers had rehearsed on Friday evening and there were no challenges.

While the incident was unexpected, the Chief-of-Staff commended the fire service and other officials for responding “well” to the incident. Brigadier West said the welfare department of the GDF is working with soldiers, both the injured and those who were nearby when the incident occurred, to ensure that they are comfortable. As a result of the incident, the firework display was cancelled. Up to press time, Major Langhorne told the Guyana Chronicle that three of the soldiers were still critical and they were being evaluated in the Accident and Emergency Unity at GPHC.