Six-year-old Dyna DeSouza and her two-year-old brother Ashton DeSouza were killed, and four others injured when a racing car driven by British sportsman David Brodie crashed into a family bus during an event at the Gavin Narine International Race meeting at the South Dakota Circuit, Timehri.

The children's mother, 26-year-old Basmattie DeSouza, whose right foot was broken in the fatal accident, was due to undergo surgery yesterday afternoon or some time this morning.

Basmattie, along with her sister, Sandy Singh, 17, and her niece Keisha Singh, seven, were being treated at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. They were moved from the Georgetown Hospital to the private institution by relatives late Sunday.

It is understood that Sandy and Keisha might be discharged some time today on condition that they take their bed-rest at home since their injuries are not very serious or life threatening.

Kurtis DeSouza, the father of Ashton and Dyna, was yesterday still in a very sad and reserved state. When this newspaper visited the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital shortly after noon yesterday, Kurtis was seen stooping besides his wife's hospital bed, holding her hands as she lay in pain and discomfort.

The children's grandfather, Balwant Singh, 48, of 4133 North Ruimveldt said funeral arrangements are still to be finalised. He noted that his son-in-law and his daughter are taking the tragic death of their two eldest children "really hard". Kurtis and Basmattie, who were married in 1994, had three children, but following Sunday's tragedy, only one-year-old Lydia remains alive. It is understood that the couple left Lydia at her grandparents' home in North Ruimveldt, where other family members took care of her.

President of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), Mr. Stanley Ming visited those injured at the private hospital yesterday and offered his sympathy and condolences to the family members.

Ming, however, assured that the GMR&SC would be launching a full inquiry into Sunday's fatal incident. "We will be launching a full inquiry into what happened and what caused the accident. I think we have a pretty full indication as to what went wrong, but we are going to go into all the details," Ming told this newspaper.

He noted that Brodie, the Captain of the British racing team that was here for Sunday's meeting, has "many, many years of driving experience" and that the incident was rather unfortunate.

Ming, who said he has spoken to Brodie since the accident, noted that the Englishman was "very, very sorry" about the tragic turn of events. According to Ming, the throttle of Brodie's racing car was jammed open and for anyone who knows about driving and car racing, there was nothing the Englishman could do.

He noted that the 59-year-old Brodie is certainly one of the most experienced racing car drivers in the world. Ming posited that the car, which has a 400 Horse-power engine, would have been doing about 100 mph and that the brakes would not have stopped the vehicle with the throttle being jammed.

"I personally was at the scene of the accident and I can see clearly the tyre marks on the ground which are an indication that he (Brodie) was fully on the brakes...but with that speed and with that amount of power there is no way he could have avoided what transpired at that moment," Ming asserted.

"From the inception, everybody knows -- the organisers and the spectators -- that this is a dangerous sport and there is a notice that clearly says that its dangerous and you're there at your own risk. (But) the Club has over the years been constantly revising the safety aspects of the circuit and improving on the facilities for spectators," Ming told the Chronicle.

"...but as I have been telling everybody, other than putting up a solid steel wall around the circuit which would not allow anybody to view the events, there is no guarantee that any circuit in the world could be 100 per cent safe. Even if we did everything that we think is right to improve the safety as a result of (Sunday's) accident, we cannot guarantee that there is not going to be any other incident that is going to cause death or injuries in the future," Ming added.

He also ruled out the possibility that 'sabotage' could have been a factor for the accident, saying it was, from all indications, "a genuine mechanical failure with the throttle stuck open (jammed)".

He, however, noted that irrespective of who is right or what caused the accident, the fact remains that two innocent children are dead. In this regard, he said the GMR&SC would be "putting ourselves in the position of that family and what they are going through and we would deal with it in a manner that we feel is in the interest of the family".

Ming and other officials of the GMR&SC went up the South Dakota Circuit yesterday afternoon "to look at what transpired and to look at the car again".

"Based on our knowledge and experience in motor racing, we will have our own assessment of what actually transpired and we also have technical people who will be advising us," Ming said.

Officials of the GMR&SC called off Sunday's meeting at approximately 12:30 hours after it was announced that Dyna and Ashton DeSouza of 22 Austin Street, Campbellville had died on the spot after Brodie's car developed mechanical problems, and ran off the track at the second turn hitting the red minibus with the spectators.