THREE miners working at the bottom of a muddy gold mining pit at Aranka, Cuyuni Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) reportedly died when a wall of the pit collapsed on top of them yesterday.
Dead are Devon Barry, 22,  also called ‘Boongoo’ of Two Friends village, East Coast Demerara;  Elson Singh, 47, also known as ‘Johnny P’ of Middle Road

Ann’s Grove,

East Coast Demerara; and Deonarine Singh, 24, also known as ‘Chubby’, who was also from Middle Road Ann’s Grove.

Two other colleagues of the dead men: Percy Lancaster and Randy Abrams, both of Victoria village, East Coast Demerara were injured during the mine wall collapse, described as a slope failure, and were air-dashed to the City last evening.
Abrams was subsequently discharged from hospital while Lancaster was up to press time this morning still a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). His condition was described as stable.
Details of the accident were sketchy but reports said that tragedy struck at Aranka around midday.
One source reported that residents in the community heard cries for help coming from the open pit.
An eyewitness disclosed that, on investigation, he saw a man struggling in the pit and he pulled him out.
The man then informed him that there were four others trapped under the mud.
Ensuing rescue efforts succeeded in rescuing one other miner alive but the other three died before they could be reached.
Elson Singh, a father of three, was described as a veteran miner with over twenty years of experience in the goldfields.
Barry and Deonarine had begun working in the gold mining claim at Aranka in recent months.
A relative of Deonarine Singh said that he had been away from home at work in the Cuyuni for the past three months and had been planning to return for his 25th birthday in November.
The bodies of the deceased were flown to the City last night and are being kept at the Lyken Funeral parlor in Georgetown, awaiting post mortems.
The Police are investigating.