BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN the two years since an accident on the West Basseterre By-Pass Road killed one man and injured two others, the public is still unaware of what exactly caused the tragedy.
A section of a bridge under construction collapsed on May 14, 2008, fatally wounding Allick Toney of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and injuring Mortland Watterton and Ian ‘Shatta’ Warde, both of Guyana.
Since then, SKNVibes learnt that Warde has fully recovered but Watterton still suffers from spinal injuries, is unable to work and has to undergo remedial surgery in the US.
Immediately after the tragic accident, Public Works officials said that a comprehensive report by the department and the project’s appointed engineering firm, Halcrow Ltd., was being compiled and would be disseminated shortly.
Less than a month later Permanent Secretary Oaklyn Peets explained that investigations were still ongoing but said the cause of the collapse would be publicised “any day now”.
Public Works Minister Hon. Dr. Earl Asim Martin was quoted later that year as saying that the report was completed and would be made available in 2009.
Construction on the site continued within two months of the accident, with an eastern section completed in late 2008 and the entire bypass road, renamed the FT Williams Highway, opened in January of this year with an official ceremony.
No mention of the overdue report was made during that event, although Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas did observe a moment of silence for the three affected workers.
At a press conference in May, Douglas indicated that the report was still in the hands of Martin and that relevant questions should be directed to him or another representative of the ministry.
When contacted earlier this week, Peets confirmed that his ministry had been in possession of the report since 2008, but declared that he could not divulge its contents as the matter was being processed by the Legal Department.
He also declined to comment on who the investigations revealed had been at fault for the bridge collapse.
“The government Legal Department is interpreting and analysing that question. It will be difficult for me to point fingers because once it has guided us, we will act in accordance. It would be premature for me to expound until they are done,” Peets explained.
The PS also could not give a timeframe concerning the department’s expected completion of its review, but noted that due to the backlog of cases with which it has to contend, he expects it would still take “quite a while” for anything significant to be done.
While government officials remain tightlipped on the matter, the dependents of the late Toney and the two Guyanese continue to wait for some explanation into the event that drastically altered their lives.
