DISMANTLE DEATH SWING

The discarded swing, which was being used by 12-year-old Renaldo Ganoo, of Cunupia, when he fell and broke his neck last Tuesday, should be dismantled, cut up and buried in the area’s garbage dump to prevent another such accident. Had this taken place immediately, the chances are that Renaldo Ganoo may not have died. The swing which had been thrown away by the owners had been retrieved by some of the children in the area, placed in a car park and was being used by young Renaldo and others when it collapsed, fracturing his neck.              

Although the swing had been condemned by the owners as unfit for use, it had proved too great an attraction for the children, who had seen it as a fun thing, had placed it upright and begun using it. However, in the state which had led its former owners to discard it the spring was not properly balanced and had fallen on its side on Tuesday as Ganoo and others played on it. In view of the disused swing’s fatal attraction the Chaguanas Regional Corporation should initiate steps to ensure that no other child dies or is seriously injured through attempting to use it.

Meanwhile, apart from having the three seats disconnected from the main frame, a welder should be engaged to cut up the metal bar at the top of the swing, along with the supports and the chains which lead from the seats to the crossbar. It is unfortunate that this had not been done initially, but the former owners of the swing, who had condemned and then discarded it, probably could not have foreseen that it would have been put back into use by unsuspecting children with an urge to amuse themselves during their present eight-week school vacation.

The Chaguanas Regional Corporation has a moral responsibility to arrange for the dismantling and disposal of the swing. Whether it will be entitled to bill the former owners is entirely another matter. But the swing must be placed effectively out of the reach of children in the area, indeed of any children at all. Because of the media exposure that the incident generated the Corporation cannot plead ignorance of the incident and the tacit threat the swing in its present state poses to children who may wish to use it. Meanwhile, parents should warn their children against use of the swing which has already claimed the life of a youngster, who was preparing to move on to the Chaguanas Junior Secondary School on the basis of the recent SEA.