~ Two Guyanese nationals are among the deceased.~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Three patients from St. Maarten who left the island for Cali Colombia has passed away after having minor heart interventions. The patients were taken to Clinica de Occidente in Cali Colombia.
Families of at least two of the deceased already filed complaint with the Social Insurance Bank (SZV) as they try to ascertain the cause of death of these persons.
Two Guyanese nationals are among the three persons that died in Cali Colombia at Clinica de Occidente.
They are Allan Paul Madray who will be laid to rest this Friday. He passed away on January 28th, 2023.
While the relatives of Gobin Bansie are also questioning his death since he was sent by air ambulance to Curacao for further medical treatment. Bansie was then transferred from Curacao to Cali Colombia at Clínica del Occidente.
It was expected that Bansie would have undergone surgery on Tuesday, February 7th, 2023. SMN News learned that the surgery was postponed to Wednesday even though the patient was transferred by air ambulance. According to close relatives, Bansie died while in operation.
While the grieving families have to come to terms with the sudden death of their loved ones, the Bansie families have to now wait for a period of two weeks before his remains are brought back to St. Maarten for burial.
Melanie Cannegieter in an interview with SMN News said her father Glen Oliver Cannegieter also a heart patient was sent from St. Maarten to Curacao by Air Ambulance and he too was transferred to Cali Colombia for surgery where her father eventually succumbed on December 18th, 2022. The younger Cannegieter said her father was operated upon on Thursday, December 15th, and three days later Sunday, December 18th he died. “It took Colombia three weeks before they could have shipped his remains to St. Maarten, only on January 16th, 2023 we were able to lay my father to rest,” Cannegieter said she has been questioning her father's death because he did not have major symptoms and she is of the opinion that her dad would have survived if he was given proper care.
In invited comment management of SZV said they were made aware of the cases and have now begun an investigation to determine how these patients died.
SZV management explained that they have been working with Clinica de Occidente for several years. They said the hospital is well known and is also being used by Curacao and other countries of the Kingdom.
