Harbour Bridge accident report handed to AG
Damage estimated at $10M
Stabroek News
June 14, 2002
The report into the recent accident, in which the Demerara Harbour Bridge was damaged, has been completed and is in the possession of the Attorney-General for action.
The document was prepared by a team comprising maritime police assembled by Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Anthony Xavier.
The report, which was handed to the minister on Tuesday was subsequently forwarded to the AG with a view to making a claim against the owners of the barge and tug which crashed into the structure on May 25.
According to a source, the report estimated that the damage to the structure was around $10 million.
The bridge which spans the Demerara river was put out of service when a barge loaded with lumber broke its moorings and dragged a tug attached to it down the river before it crashed into the retractor span of the structure.
Buffeted by strong currents, the tug and barge owned by Unamco Shipping had uprooted six piles at the Toolsie Persaud Ltd wharf at Providence, East Bank Demerara before rapidly drifting towards the structure and colliding with it.
Alert personnel on the bridge at the time averted danger by closing the structure to vehicular or other traffic as the barge moved perilously close to it.
Repairs were completed a mere 43 hours after its forced closure as personnel of the DHB worked around the clock from the moment it was damaged to ensure a speedy restoration of its operations.