absence of the GDF helicopter for the recovery, it took an
ingenious initiative on the part of the dead woman’s father
father was very determined to recover his
daughter’s body
The agonizing wait is over for the relatives of Aliya Bulkan who plunged to
her death from a cliff at the Kaieteur Falls last Saturday.
The 23-year old’s body, which is reportedly still in good shape was
yesterday recovered just before 14:00 hours (2 pm) and flown to the city.
The body was spotted at the base of the falls by a search team as early as
Monday but because of the remoteness of the spot where it was, there was an
initial problem in retrieving it.
This led to the involvement of ranks from the Guyana Defence Force.
A release from the GDF stated that troops from 31 Special Forces recovered the
body of Aliya Bulkan from the rugged terrain of the Kaieteur Gorge.
According to the release, the troops, comprising two Officers and 12 ranks,
aided by three civilians inclusive of one family member, recovered the body at
about 13:45 hours. The remains were placed in a body bag and tied to a
stretcher which was then hoisted to the top of the falls from where it was
dispatched at about 15:05 hours to Ogle Airport.
The recovery party had arrived at the falls on Monday, at 09:00 hours, and
after a preliminary assessment of where the body could have landed, they began
the recovery effort.
Their search along the escarpment led them to the Amerindian village of Tukeit
where a command post was established.
The body was sighted from the top of the falls and this information was passed
to the recovery team at the bottom.
The recovery efforts were thwarted by the particularly difficult terrain in
the Gorge.
However, the recovery team continued, using another route and further civilian
expertise, which led to the eventual recovery of the body today.
There are reports that an initial attempt on Wednesday had to be aborted
because of the danger the effort posed to some members of the search team.
Captain Gerry Gouveia, a top local aviation specialist who is familiar with
the falls and some of its surrounding areas told this newspaper in an invited
comment that while it took some time to retrieve Bulkan’s body, the efforts
of the GDF Special Forces and their civilian accompaniment must be highly
commended.
He said he had no doubt that once the troops had committed themselves, he was
confident that they would have recovered the body. According to Captain
Gouveia, in the absence of the GDF helicopter for the recovery, it took an
ingenious initiative on the part of the dead woman’s father and other
relatives who were also a part of the recovery process to make it a success.
He explained that about 800 feet of rope was used to make the recovery of the
body possible.
“There was no chopper. This was done by share innovation by the father and
Yacoob Ally. They actually dropped a rope from the top. Knowing that they
would not have had the helicopter from before, they came up with a very
innovative way to do it. The father was very determined to recover his
daughter’s body. It was a strong indication of a father’s love for his
daughter,” Captain Gouveia said.
He explained that while releasing the rope to the bottom of the 700-foot drop
was easy, the actual recovery was very challenging, since the GDF ranks risked
their lives to complete the task.
“We really need to congratulate them,” Gouviea said. Yesterday family
members gathered at the Sandy’s Funeral Home consoling each other.
However they declined to comment, claiming that it was not an appropriate time
to speak to the media.
A post mortem examination will be performed on Bulkan’s remains today.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
No need to use the helicopter at the risk of losing it. Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best
Stabroek News, dated Saturday, November 14, 2009
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