Final farewell to accident victims

ONE funeral, one cremation ceremony. This is the decision taken by relatives of the five men who were killed in a vehicular accident on Saturday.

Still struggling to come to terms with their losses, relatives of the dead men said this decision was made since the five were very close to each other and spent most of their liming time in company with each other. The funeral service will be held today and one cremation will be done under Hindu rites.

Lutchman Ramdass, 25, his brother Rohan, 22, their cousin Regan Pulchan, 19, and friends Pooran Bissoo, 22, and Navin Sieusankar, 18, all of Glod Road in Rio Claro, died when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with a four-tonne truck. The five were heading towards Rio Claro to buy a duck to cook when tragedy struck.

Autopsies carried out yesterday on the deceased men at the Forensic Science Centre, Federation Park in St James, revealed the victims all sustained fatal head and chest injuries. In addition, all five also suffered internal and external haemorrhaging consistent with a vehicular accident.

Speaking with Newsday yesterday, Gaitri Bissoo — sister of deceased Pooran — confirmed that one funeral service would be held for the five.

She said the respective families decided to hold a funeral service to honour their fallen relatives’ closeness.

“They lived and died together, so it is fitting that they get a final send-off together,” a relative said.

“They would always be together, everywhere... all over. Now they all died together in the same accident so we thought that we could not separate them,” Bissoo said. She also confirmed that the men would be cremated together. The bodies of the men will be taken to their respective homes at 10 am today so relatives can say their goodbyes in a private setting.

The coffins will be brought together at a central venue along Glod Road for the official funeral service. All five will then be cremated at the Shore of Peace, Mosquito Creek in Oropouche.