A search is ongoing for a Chinese national who has gone missing after falling overboard while offloading materials from a barge at the construction site for the new Demerara River bridge.

The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday night at around 8:20pm.

In a statement, the Ministry of Public Works said a search and rescue operation was launched just after the worker was swept away in the river by the strong current. The search and rescue operation was launched by the company’s emergency response team with support from the Coast Guard.

The Ministry said despite extensive search efforts throughout the night, including the deployment of a diver, the missing worker is still to be located.

“The searching continued throughout the night and will continue until the worker is found”, the Ministry said.

The Occupational Health and Safety Department of the Ministry of Labour has already launched a full investigation and has been meeting with other employees of the company, as well as company officials.

Three days ago, the Labour Ministry encouraged increased safety practices in workplaces after the country recorded a 60% increase in fatal workplace accidents.

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