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Take from our huge News archive, this is what was making news 5 years ago!
Electrocuted!
From
The Chronicle
of 18 Feb, 2005
Sadness and horror swept through the northern communities of Portsmouth and Paix Bouche last week Friday when 28-year-old Ashton Henry of Paix Bouche lost his life instantly after being electrocuted while performing his duties at the Coconut Beach Hotel in Portsmouth.
The incident occurred around 11:10 a.m. while Henry was repairing a washing machine in the laundry area. Confident that all was in order, Henry put on the switch to find out whether the machine was working. The hotels managing director, Liz Karam, heard one of the housekeepers, Anthea, screaming, Ashton! Ashton, is lying at the back! Ms. Karam found Mr. Henry lying with one hand stuck on the switch and the other on the machine. According to Karam, the police and ambulance were alerted while CPR First Aid was administered by a Ross University medical student residing in the hotel, to no avail. One hour later, Henry was pronounced dead at the Portsmouth Hospital by Drs. Sabin and Issa.
Henry was maintenance manager at the hotel for ten years and according to Ms. Karam, he was an outstanding, industrious and diligent man. Ashton was my right hand on whom I could confidently depend for doing anything that was asked of him. He was the person you could rely on to go to the bank and post office among other errands, Ms. Karam reflected sorrowfully. Commenting on his loyalty and dedication on the job, Ms. Karam said, There were no complaints about him. He was a very good worker, showed up for work on time and demonstrated tremendous loyalty on the job. For these reasons well all miss him, while it is going to be pretty difficult to replace someone like that. Ashton was like a brother to me and anytime he would need any kind of assistance, I would help him not only professionally, but personally as well.
The staff at the hotel, especially the housekeepers Anthea and Lorilla who witnessed the mishap, has been going through some hard times since the passing of Ashton, said Ms. Karam.
Speaking to The Chronicle, Mr. Henrys girlfriend, Agatha Azille was still traumatized by the loss of her boyfriend with whom she has a four-year-old son A.J. She said with tears in her eyes, Ashton was everything to me and he was always there when I needed him. He always spoke about A.J. and would tell me to take care of A.J. and protect him for us. He said recently that he loved me so much that he did not even know what to give me again. I really dont know how Im going to live without him because life will not be the same.
Meantime, Ms. Karam has assured Ms. Azille that the Coconut Beach Hotel will take full responsibility for Ashtons funeral service. Ashton is survived by his mother, Euthelyn Fagan, two sisters and four brothers in Paix Bouche.
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