12 firemen interdicted as Govt. calls for swift justice into theft from crashed plane

Twelve members from the Guyana Fire Service have been interdicted from their duties to allow investigators to probe allegations that they stole items from the Fly Jamaica plane that crash landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Friday.

The decision comes just as government issued a press release calling for the perpetrators to be brought to swift justice.

“Cabinet strongly condemns as criminal and morally corrupt, those alleged acts of theft, and urge that the perpetrators be brought to swift justice,” the Ministry of Presidency said.

The statement continued, “It must be noted that not only did the accused cast a blemish on the reputation of the disciplined services but they have tarnished Guyana’s image.”

The firemen, including both senior and junior officers, were arrested almost immediately after it was reported that they removed items—cash and gadgets—from the Boeing 757-200 plane that crash-landed around 02:53 am on Friday.

The items that were removed belong to passengers and crew members. The pilot of the plane reported that he lost cash and a cellular phone. One of the firemen admitted to taking one of the gadgets and has since surrendered it.

Some of the stolen items were also discovered at the Fire Service’s Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) office during a search. Based on reports, the items were removed when the fire-fighters were assisting passengers off the plane.

The Boeing 757-200 plane—destined for Toronto, Canada included one American, 82 Canadians, 35 Guyanese, one Pakistani and one Trinidadian.

Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson had confirmed that about 20 minutes after the plane departed Guyana, the pilot reported a hydraulic problem and requested permission to return and land on the airstrip.

Upon landing, the Guyana Standard was told that the plane’s brakes reportedly failed, causing the aircraft to crash land.

Director of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Egbert Field, has confirmed that the black box of the Fly Jamaica aircraft—that crash landed—will be sent to the United States for decoding. This will help the authorities to understand what caused the accident.