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Rising Stars winner among 34 rescued from flooded gorge
INGRID BROWN, Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
The men hanging out of this bus along with five members of the St Catherine municipal police helped to guide a bus with 30 passengers through flooded waters after they were trapped for five hours in the flooded Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine yesterday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
A team of determined municipal police and a group of men from the Bog Walk area yesterday braved raging flood waters to rescue 34 people - among them this year's Digicel Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis - who were trapped inside the gorge for five hours.
The special constables, Patrick Jones, Everton King, Ronaldo Davis, Rahan Daley and the lone female, Charmaine Archer, were travelling through the Gorge yesterday morning when the river suddenly burst its banks trapping them.
"We assessed the situation and realise we were trapped, so we got the motorists to higher ground," King explained.
Thirty of those rescued were travelling in a public passenger vehicle while the other four were motorists.
The terrified passengers who were travelling to Montego Bay breathed a collective sigh of relief when at 3:00 pm the rescue team safely piloted the bus in the opposite direction, across the nearly submerged flat bridge.
(From left) District Constables Rahan Daley, Ronaldo Davis, Charmaine Archer, Everton King and Patrick Jones displayed gallantry yesterday in their determination to rescue the passengers who were trapped in a bus out of the flooded Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
"Me just very hungry," one woman told the Observer after the rescue operation.
"It was very terrifying, and me just want go home and forget this happened," said another passenger who identified herself as Sharon.
Davis, who sang her way into the hearts of Jamaicans earlier this year with her version of Jennifer Hudson's 'Spotlight', was sitting in the back of the bus. But she obviously did not like living under the media's spotlight as she used her sweater to cover her face as the Observer spoke with the other passengers.
The Observer arrived at the Flat Bridge at 2:30 just as the St Catherine municipal police and the men were directing the drivers of a oil tanker and four pickups to negotiate the-near flooded bridge.
But the officers said the driver of the bus, Raymond Lewis, had opted to remain in the gorge because he did not want to "chance" the flooded road with his passengers.
"You mean say him siddung with the Rising Star girl (Davis) in there and no do nothing? We haffi go back round dere fi them," said one man, after hearing that Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis was one of the passengers on the bus.
"And even a pregnant woman in there to," said another.
The group volunteered to take the news team into the area and to try one last time to persuade the bus driver to brave the rising waters.
The Observer team, the officers and some of the men ventured into the flooded gorge. And even as water began flowing into the small four wheel drive, the determined group forged ahead until the bus came in sight.
The worried-looking passengers were seated inside. By this time, the river started to cover the road, trapping them in the middle of two fast rising bodies of water.
On one side firemen stood helplessly watching.
"If them no move from yah round about now them ago wash way," said Leroy Brown, a resident.
After further prompting, the driver turned around and drove through the flooded waters to Spanish Town.
INGRID BROWN, Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
The men hanging out of this bus along with five members of the St Catherine municipal police helped to guide a bus with 30 passengers through flooded waters after they were trapped for five hours in the flooded Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine yesterday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)A team of determined municipal police and a group of men from the Bog Walk area yesterday braved raging flood waters to rescue 34 people - among them this year's Digicel Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis - who were trapped inside the gorge for five hours.
The special constables, Patrick Jones, Everton King, Ronaldo Davis, Rahan Daley and the lone female, Charmaine Archer, were travelling through the Gorge yesterday morning when the river suddenly burst its banks trapping them.
"We assessed the situation and realise we were trapped, so we got the motorists to higher ground," King explained.
Thirty of those rescued were travelling in a public passenger vehicle while the other four were motorists.
The terrified passengers who were travelling to Montego Bay breathed a collective sigh of relief when at 3:00 pm the rescue team safely piloted the bus in the opposite direction, across the nearly submerged flat bridge.
(From left) District Constables Rahan Daley, Ronaldo Davis, Charmaine Archer, Everton King and Patrick Jones displayed gallantry yesterday in their determination to rescue the passengers who were trapped in a bus out of the flooded Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)"Me just very hungry," one woman told the Observer after the rescue operation.
"It was very terrifying, and me just want go home and forget this happened," said another passenger who identified herself as Sharon.
Davis, who sang her way into the hearts of Jamaicans earlier this year with her version of Jennifer Hudson's 'Spotlight', was sitting in the back of the bus. But she obviously did not like living under the media's spotlight as she used her sweater to cover her face as the Observer spoke with the other passengers.
The Observer arrived at the Flat Bridge at 2:30 just as the St Catherine municipal police and the men were directing the drivers of a oil tanker and four pickups to negotiate the-near flooded bridge.
But the officers said the driver of the bus, Raymond Lewis, had opted to remain in the gorge because he did not want to "chance" the flooded road with his passengers.
"You mean say him siddung with the Rising Star girl (Davis) in there and no do nothing? We haffi go back round dere fi them," said one man, after hearing that Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis was one of the passengers on the bus.
"And even a pregnant woman in there to," said another.
The group volunteered to take the news team into the area and to try one last time to persuade the bus driver to brave the rising waters.
The Observer team, the officers and some of the men ventured into the flooded gorge. And even as water began flowing into the small four wheel drive, the determined group forged ahead until the bus came in sight.
The worried-looking passengers were seated inside. By this time, the river started to cover the road, trapping them in the middle of two fast rising bodies of water.
On one side firemen stood helplessly watching.
"If them no move from yah round about now them ago wash way," said Leroy Brown, a resident.
After further prompting, the driver turned around and drove through the flooded waters to Spanish Town.
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