The family of a Cunupia man who died in a work-related accident yesterday is calling on witnesses to come forward and say how he really died.
Ryan Maharaj, 31, of Pina Circular, Dyette Estate, Cunupia, went to Reesal’s Hardware in Freeport to collect a tonne of steel around 8.20 am yesterday when the incident occurred.
Salic Reesal, the owner of the hardware, said Maharaj had climbed onto the tray of the truck and was trying to place a piece of cardboard to protect the truck’s cab whilst machine operator Nathan Milner was using a forklift to load the steel.
He added: “Part of the steel was protruding over the hood of the truck and he (Maharaj) went to put a piece of cardboard to protect the bars on the back of the truck.
“The steel slipped somehow from the prongs of the forklift and the bundle of steel went towards him. He must have seen it, gone back and he fell off the side of the truck.
“When he fell, he hit his head on the ground and it smashed open and then the steel tumbled off the side of the truck. His head was on the ground and his body was on top of the steel.”
Reesal said that was the first such incident to take place at his hardware in all his 33 years of operation.
“This was a freak accident and I am just sorry for his family’s loss.”
But when the T&T Guardian visited Maharaj’s Cunupia home, relatives told of many unanswered questions.
“This story is not adding up the correct way,” said his uncle Mano Maharaj.
“The family was not told of the incident until about an hour after it happened and even though I reached there about five minutes after they found out, the scene was clear. There were no police, no body, no district medical officer (DMO).
“We want the workers who were there and who saw what happened to come forward and say how it really happened because I can’t understand how he fell off the truck and then the steel fell but his body was on top of the steel,” Mano said.
Maharaj’s distraught father, Bridgenarine Maharaj, said when he asked police officers to view the body of his only son, he was told to wait until today.
“We didn’t get to see him on the scene so we asked to see him at the mortuary and the police officer told us no, we have to wait for the autopsy to see him,” he said. “The officer made us wait and gave us back his identification but we never got to see him,” he added.
Maharaj’s co-worker, Sharaz Abdool, who was the last person to speak to him, said the steel was to be taken to a construction site in Mayaro. Maharaj worked as a project technician with XP Engineering in Cunupia.
The body was taken to the San Fernando mortuary by officers of the Freeport Police Station.
An autopsy is expected to be done today.