Dad and son dug out from caved-in cesspit

IT TOOK five men and an excavator to dig out a seven-year-old boy and his 33-year-old stepfather after they were buried alive under almost ten feet of dirt when a cesspit caved in on them in Moruga over the weekend.

Little Brandon Douglas was completely immersed in the pit, and his stepfather Dexter Watson was covered from his neck. Both are warded at the San Fernando General Hospital where Brandon is fighting for his life and his stepfather is in serious condition. “When they pulled Brandon out he had already turned blue,” the boy’s grandmother, Ermin, sobbed. Brandon is in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit. Hospital officials said he was breathing with the assistance of a ventilator since he suffered massive chest injuries. Watson suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and neck injuries and is in Ward Three.

The freak accident occurred at Fort George Road on Saturday afternoon when Watson, a mason was taking measurements of the cesspit that was being constructed. Watson was employed to do the day’s work by the owner of the land, Ag Inspector Lloyd Kerr. Watson, his common-law wife, Paula Douglas, and Brandon live at Paula’s parents’ house opposite the worksite. At around midday Brandon, a Standard One pupil of the Moruga Baptist Primary School, followed his father over the road to the job site. Villagers said as Watson worked in the pit, the boy stood on the loose dirt that had been excavated from the hole. One villager told Newsday: “Dexter came across and borrowed some line and then went down to measure the pit. He went there alone but like the boy followed him.” Ermine, pointing to large cracks on the ground said: “Look at the ground how it has so many cracks. It was easy to cave in because the place is so dry.”

The Fort George Road area is riddled with landslips and several houses in the area have been damaged by the shifting of the soil. While no one had actually witnessed the cave in, according to villagers Watson and Brandon had spent not even 15 minutes at the site when a neighbour ran into the road shouting that they were trapped under the dirt. One villager, Selwyn Huggins, said: “The depth was too much for them. Dexter tried to escape and he was pushing Brandon up out of the hole but he was too far down. There wasn’t anything he could do.” Brandon’s grandmother said she was at home when she heard the commotion. Huggins said he and four others frantically grabbed shovels and pitchforks and began digging alongside the excavator. “We got them out in about 20 minutes. If the excavator wasn’t around we wouldn’t have gotten them out in time,” said Huggins. The hole has since been covered with galvanise. Princes Town police are investigating the incident.