Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Despite efforts to relocate the Manning Fete from atop the San Fernando Hill to the base following Renee Mitchell’s fatal fall last Saturday, organisers will continue with the original venue.
However, the fete’s co-ordinator, Mon Repos/Navet councillor Nigel Couttier, said there will be a fence around the perimeter of the fete as an added safety measure.
“We already had EMA approval, dancehall and bar licences for the hill, so the Fire Service advised us to block off certain areas, and a fencing company will secure the perimeter,” Couttier said.
Manning Fete, which was started by former prime minister and San Fernando East MP Patrick Manning, returns after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Couttier said given Mitchell’s tragic death, the committee attempted to relocate to the base of the hill. He said San Fernando East MP Brian Manning was concerned about the safety of his patrons, so the committee had to do everything necessary.
“We had a meeting following the incident and a site visit with the fire department to see what we could put in place to secure the area as best as we could. We had approvals already for the hill because we planned it, but based on what happened last week, it was only fair to have fire put extra precautions in place,” Couttier said.
Mitchell, 39, of Riverside North, Corinth, died at the San Fernando General Hospital on Sunday, seven hours after she fell off the edge of the hill. Reports stated that she and her boyfriend, Peter Ribeiro, were at Illusion’s Solset: Supernova Premium Drinks Fete atop the hill on Saturday when, around 11.55 pm, she went to relieve herself. Mitchell went into a breach in the hedge lining the edge of the north-eastern side of the hill and slipped, plunging approximately 150 feet down.
Land Search and Rescue personnel rappelled down the precipice and reached Mitchell within an hour. They reported that she had multiple injuries, little to no movement in her lower extremities and was in and out of consciousness. The rescuers took almost six hours to return to the top of the hill due to the unstable terrain and low lighting posing a challenge. She died at hospital.
