By Leroy Smith
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn cleared the air as to why a larger chopper namely the Guyana Defense Force Bell 412 Chopper was not used in the Search and Rescue Operation of the Trans Guyana plane crash.
At a press conference on Wednesday, January 22 Benn explained that the GDF chopper was out to facilitate maintenance. Benn made the disclosure after being asked if he sees the need for a more powerful chopper to assist in Search and Rescue Operations like the one over the weekend and as was stated by the management of Trans Guyana.
According to Benn, when the army was approached for the use of the chopper it was pointed out that while the machine could still fly and could have been part of the Search and Rescue Operations, such a move would have been a risky one.
The Minister said that in operations such as the recent one, much care and consideration is usually exercised to ensure that there are no further emergencies.
On Tuesday, the management of Trans Guyana told the media that rescuers might have been able to rappel to the crash site after it was located had there been the use of a more powerful chopper. They pointed out that the two choppers which were used in the operation were light ones which could not effectively send men down into the desired location because it was too dangerous.
