Autopsy performed on Bre-X geologist
Autopsy performed on Bre-X geologist
JAKARTA (JP): A team of doctors performed an autopsy yesterday
on the body of geologist Michael de Guzman who fell from a
helicopter while flying to the Busang gold property he helped
discover in East Kalimantan.
Sugiyanto, head of the Temindung airport in the East
Kalimantan capital Samarinda, said de Guzman's body was at the
Wahab Syahrani General Hospital in the provincial capital.
"Doctors performed an autopsy on the body today (Tuesday). The
autopsy finished at 3 p.m.," he told The Jakarta Post by
telephone, but did not mention any results. Sugiyanto coordinated
the five-day search and rescue operation launched after de Guzman
fell from the Alouette 3 helicopter last week.
"The body seems to be fairly intact," he added.
The doctors were from the Bre-X Minerals company and the East
Kalimantan Police Hospital, he said.
The body was taken to Balikpapan yesterday at 5 p.m. It was
scheduled to be flown to Jakarta this morning.
Sugiyanto said last Friday that de Guzman may have committed
suicide as one of several letters found in a bag he left in the
helicopter was addressed to his wife saying that he was suffering
from acute hepatitis B.
De Guzman, a Filipino national, was on his way to the Busang
property last Wednesday when the back door of the helicopter
burst open 17 minutes after leaving Samarinda airport, search and
rescue officials said.
The Busang motherlode, estimated by Canadian exploration
company Bre-X Minerals Ltd to contain at least 71 million ounces
of gold currently worth around $25 billion, is the biggest gold
find this century.
The helicopter had been hired by Bre-X, where de Guzman was
chief geologist, and was said to be in good condition.
Frank Cimafranca, third secretary and consul at the Philippine
embassy in Jakarta, told Reuters De Guzman's body was likely to
be shipped back to the Philippines over the next few days unless
police wanted to conduct further investigations.
Embassy sources said de Guzman's wife and two daughters were
expected to arrive in Jakarta today from the Philippines. The
sources did not rule out a further autopsy.
Bre-X has entered into an agreement with Indonesian partners
and the U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc to
develop Busang.
The death of de Guzman, coupled with newspaper reports last
Friday that Busang contained less than the estimated gold
reserves, hit the Bre-X share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange
on Friday.
The shares rebounded partly Monday after the company issued a
statement defending the accuracy of the assay results and
calculations on the amount of gold contained in Busang. (imn/swe)