The accident occurred October 7 in Antigua and “two weeks later we still can’t get the body.”
Speaking to this newspaper Wednesday, son of the deceased, Kisnasammy Poligadu, said that attempts were made to solicit help from the Ministry, but so far no such assistance has been forthcoming.
Further, he stated that a Ministry of Foreign Affairs staffer directed the family to the Ministry of Public Works for assistance.
The distraught eldest offspring of the victim, speaking on behalf of the family, said that they are going through a hard period coping with the death of his mother; but it is even more disturbing that the body has not yet been handed over.
Poligadu said that his brother-in-law Krishan Khan had flown from Montserrat (the woman’s intended destination) to Antigua to identify the body. However, he neither has been able to tie up arrangements to bring her remains back home or ascertain how soon the body would be made available to be transported back to Guyana.
Poligadu noted that from the little information gathered, the process is being held up as Antigua awaits a foreign pathologist to carry out a post mortem examination. A friend of the family indicated that “I am the one who advised them to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as I thought the entity would have been most fitting to assist in this regard.”
The bereaved family had initially expressed concern about who is going to stand the expense for the body to be transported to Guyana.
When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials were reluctant to comment on the matter.
Hours after leaving her homeland, the 57-year-old from Williamsburg, Corentyne, Berbice, died when a nine-seater Montserrat-bound Britten-Norman Islander crashed shortly after takeoff from Antigua.
The family indicated that the fatal journey marked the woman’s first air trip. She was on her way to see her hospitalized, pregnant daughter who lives in Montserrat. Her son-in-law, Krishan Khan, was awaiting her at the Montserrat Airport.
He, however, suspected something had happened after there was an unusually lengthy delay. His worst fears were confirmed when the airport authorities informed him that the plane had crashed during take- off on Runway Seven at the VC Bird International Airport, Antigua.
Khan immediately informed the woman’s relatives in Guyana.
Poligadu made the connecting flight from Guyana to Trinidad from where she took a plane to Antigua.
Speculation is that weather conditions may have been a factor in the crash. There had been heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning before and around the time of the crash.
Meanwhile, reports are that Fly Montserrat was grounded on Wednesday by authorities. The airline on Tuesday received a letter from the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority restricting it from flying to any Eastern Caribbean member state, the rjrnewsonline.com reported yesterday.
Montserrat Premier Reuben Meade confirmed that the ban will remain in place until the airline meets certain requirements.
The Eastern Caribbean CAA ban follows another incident in which a Fly Montserrat aircraft, carrying seven passengers from Antigua, rolled onto the grass on landing at John Osborne Airport in Montserrat on Tuesday morning. There was no injury and the aircraft was not damaged. The airport has been closed until the aircraft can be moved for further investigation.
Saturday 20 October 2012
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