The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A CHARITY group has launched an effort to help both the families of Thursday’s deadly plane crash and the car accident earlier this month that claimed the lives of three brothers.

The effort comes as the Airport Authority insisted it is committed to “safe operations” following Thursday’s crash. The authority declined to comment further on the crash, citing the ongoing investigation by air accident investigators.

Their statement came after social media reports that the plane was circling over San Andros trying to land but that the lights were out on the runway. It is claimed that by the time the lights were put on, the pilot headed back to Nassau and had to ditch into the water.

Two people on board the plane – Emma Williams and Allen Russell – were killed in the crash. Emma Williams was en route to a funeral in Andros.

Now a charity group, Together We Are Stronger, is seeking to support bereaved families from both the crash and a car accident that claimed the lives of three brothers originally from North Andros – Philip McCarron Christie, 24, Philip D’Caprio Christie, 23, and D’Angelo Christie, 20. The crash took place on Sir Milo Butler Highway when the vehicle they were in hit a tree.

Beverley Laramore, North Andros administrator, said of the death of the Christie brothers: “The District of North Andros has taken a real, gigantic toll... We look at families and they have losses, but to have three at the same time? No one can imagine what you would be going through.”

She said: “Persons came together... to assist the family beyond political parties.”

Initially set up to assist the Christie family, the charity has since grown into a formal organisation that will provide support to other families in need.

“Andros will stick together... because we are a family. We may have our differences, but when the time comes, we will come together,” Ms Laramore said.

“Out of the ashes, we will rise,” Ms Laramore said.

Leonardo Lightbourne, MP for North Andros and The Berry Islands, said: “Words cannot express the amount of pain these families must be going through due to this unexpected loss. God remain our very present help in the time of trouble.”

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister said of the plane crash: “We are saddened by the loss of life, and we pray for the families and the communities affected.

“Andros has always been a place of deep community bonds, where our people come together in the face of adversity.”

Those wishing to donate to the charity to assist can contact Donnamae Pickstock on 357-2550.