From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Bahamas Information Services Updates
Prime Minister visits families of victims of the Labour Day Parade tragedy
By Lindsay Thompson
Jun 2, 2018 - 4:34:26 PM


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Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister, led a small delegation to Doctors Hospital to visit victims who were among the injured during the Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. Hospitalized there are Christine Adderley and Tamika Lightbourne, Saturday, June 2, 2018. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

NASSAU, The Bahamas – Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis spent a good portion of Saturday visiting the families of those who died on the Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade on Friday. He also visited the survivors who were hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained in the unfortunate mishap.

Cutting his Labour Day holiday weekend short, the Prime Minister arrived from Long Island where he was attending the Regatta and took a small delegation with him to the various homes in New Providence.

The deceased are: Dianne Elizabeth Gray-Ferguson, 55, of Coral Harbour; Kathleen Augusta Fernander, 51 of Buttonwood Street, Pinewood Gardens; Tabitha Charlene Haye, 41, of Pineyard Road; and Tami Patrice Gibson, 48 of Tropical Meadows.

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Prime Minister Hubert Minnis meets with Michael Ferguson, the husband, and other family members of Dianne Elizabeth Gray-Ferguson, 55, of Coral Harbour who died on the Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. Also pictured, left, is Senator Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labour. The Prime Minister was also accompanied by Duane Sands, Minister of Health; Bishop Delton Fernander, President, The Bahamas Christian Council; Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Jack Thompson; and Bahamas Information Services, June 2, 2018. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Hon. Duane Sands, Minister of Health; Senator the Hon. Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labour; Bishop Delton Fernander, President, The Bahamas Christian Council; Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Jack Thompson and Bahamas Information Services, the Government’s public relations department, on June 2, 2018.

During his visit with family members, who were obviously distraught, the Prime Minister offered condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Bishop Fernander prayed with family members and assured them that God is “faithful” and will comfort them in their time of bereavement.

The Prime Minister and Bishop Fernander interacted with and offered words of encouragement to the husbands of Haye, Gibson and Gray-Ferguson, and with Nahshawn Fernander, son of Kathleen Augusta Fernander.

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Prime Minister Minnis meets with the bereaved family of Tami Patrice Gibson, 48 of Tropical Meadows, who died on the Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

Officials reported that 24 participants in the parade suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals for medical care.  Of the injured who remained hospitalized, the Prime Minister and his team visited with them at the state-owned Princess Margaret Hospital and the private Doctors Hospital, where the victims were recovering in the Female Surgical Wards I and II, and the Intensive Care Unit, respectively.

Hospitalized are Christine Adderley, Tamika Lightbourne, Annabell Sands-Gibson and Phillippa Roberts-Forbes.  The families of the deceased and the recovering victims in hospital responded overwhelmingly to the visits by the Prime Minister and his team, indicating that the gesture “cheered” them up after facing such an ordeal.

The Prime Minister had initially issued a statement on Labour Day, Friday, June 1, in the aftermath of the incident.  He commended the participants, first responders, onlookers and the professional teams at the Princess Margaret Hospital who worked with great compassion and urgency to care for the injured, and those who had already passed away.

“We
commend all those who came to the aid of those affected by this tragedy,” the Prime Minister had said. “Government ministers and other officials will continue to offer immediate support and ongoing assistance. We are committed to doing all that we can to assist the family members of the deceased, and those injured and their families.”

 
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Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister, led a small delegation to Doctors Hospital to visit victims who were among the injured during the Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. Hospitalized there are Christine Adderley and Tamika Lightbourne, Saturday, June 2, 2018. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)


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Bishop Delton Fernander, President, The Bahamas Christian Council offers words of encouragement to Stephen Haye, husband of Tabitha Charlene Haye, 41, of Pineyard Road, who died on the Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. Looking on are Prime Minister Hubert Minnis; Duane Sands, Minister of Health; and Senator Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labour. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)


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Prime Minister Hubert Minnis and Bishop Delton Fernander, President, The Bahamas Christian Council speak with Nahshawn Fernander, son of Kathleen Augusta Fernander, 51, of Buttonwood Street, Pinewood Gardens who died in the Randol Fawkes Labour Day Parade on Friday, June 1, 2018. Looking on is Senator Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labour. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)




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