Two days after falling overboard…Miner’s body fished out of creek, another feared dead

Aug 08, 2014 News

Two days of worry and waiting came to a sad end yesterday for family members of Leon D’Aguiar, one of two miners who fell overboard at Aranka Creek, Cuyuni, on Tuesday.

Dead: Leon D’Aguiar

D’Aguiar’s body was fished out of the waterway by co-workers and a police search team around midday yesterday, a short distance from where the tragedy occurred.
D’Aguiar reportedly slipped and fell into the creek Tuesday night and his co-worker, Junior Williams, 19, jumped in to help him.
The men were heading back to their camp after collecting a spanner (a hand tool) from someone at another location.
According to information received, D’Aguiar and Williams were sent to borrow the tool from workers in another camp when their journey took a deadly turn.
It was reported that someone transported them to the location in a boat, but the duo decided to walk back to their camp instead of waiting on the vessel to return for them.
According to information, Williams managed to walk across a piece of plank used as a bridge, but D’Aguiar was not that lucky. He reportedly slipped and fell into the water and Williams jumped in to assist his colleague.
Despite efforts by Williams to save his co-worker, they both ended up going down in the water.
Yesterday, at Williams’s home, his mother, Vanessa Bancroft, said that she received a call around 20:00 hrs Tuesday from the person her son went into the interior with two weeks ago.
“I hear he tried to save the other boy and he end up going down too,” the devastated woman said. She added that her son never told her anything about D’Aguiar.

Missing: Junior Williams

According to Bancroft, her son only celebrated his birthday last Sunday. The woman claimed that she spoke to him last week and he told her that he would return in December.
“The boss’ brother called me and said that they found D’Aguiar body and that they were searching for my son. He said they will wait until they find my son and then they would make one thing and bring both bodies,” Bancroft stressed.