Man Rescued from 40-Foot Well in Long Bay, St Philip with Help of Fire Officers and Residents | Incident Highlights Local Community Collaboration

After nearly two hours at the bottom of a well at Long Bay, St Philip, a man was rescued from the more than 40-foot pit by fire officers, assisted by residents in the area yesterday.

Cheering and clapping broke out around 5 p.m. when the injured man, 53-year-old Eric Dookhic, of Robinson Close, Long Bay, was hoisted from the hole in which he was trapped.

Residents Shanice Gittens, Justin Harding, De’Demoria Desir and Trina Alleyne had earlier sprung into action after hearing a loud crashing sound along the main road.

Alleyne and Desir were in the nearby shop and, upon learning what had happened from the shouting of passengers in a public service vehicle, immediately called emergency personnel and kept Dookhic alert until they arrived. They had only earlier that morning served the man, whom they knew only through his purchasing from the shop.

Fire Service

“We were inside working when a van man came in to purchase something and then the passengers said a man drop in the well. I ran out and I look in and I could not see the man. I went back in and called the Fire Service and the gentleman just told me what to do after asking if the man was alive or moving,” Desir said.

Co-worker Alleyne said that when the fire officer told Desir to make sure the man was “okay” and to continue talking with him to ensure he was aware of what was happening around him, she did just that.

“I stood out here with him and I kept talking to him and telling him that we called the ambulance, Fire Service and the police. He tell me that he is in a lot of pain and I tell him not to move because I didn’t know what was wrong with him and I just kept him company,” she said.

Gittens, who operates a hair braiding salon just feet from the well, heard a loud noise and when she investigated she realised that the top of the well, which they had complained to authorities about in the past, had collapsed and the man, whom she did not know, had fallen in.

“I came and I kneel over and I look in and I saw the man at the bottom of the well calling for help. So the girl called the police and the fire station and in less than 20 minutes they were here,” she said.

Complained

Gittens said she had complained about the well for about four years but had gotten nowhere in getting it fixed.

Harding was one of the people who helped in hauling up Dookhic from the well when fire officers asked for volunteers.

Divisional Officer Tremelle Perch said the report came around 3:01 p.m. and they extracted Doohic from the well by employing the rigging and rescue technique using the horizontal vortex.

He said the operation took time because the officers had to consider the safety of the injured individual, as well as that of fellow officers. ( AC)