Former premier, Donaldson Romeo, is calling on legislators to put aside their differences and support a resolution seeking the urgent restoration of safe, reliable, affordable, and continuous day and night medical evacuation services in Montserrat.
‘A united voice from the Legislative Assembly, backed by all of our people at home and abroad, will send a clear message that the safety and wellbeing of Montserratians must remain a national priority and be treated with greater urgency,’ said Romeo, an opposition legislator, ahead of the June 30 sitting of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly. Government has confirmed that night-time medical evacuation services ended in November 2019 after Air Safety Support International (ASSI) concluded that the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander did not provide an acceptable safety margin in the event of an engine failure during night take-off.
Government has acknowledged that a number of technical, regulatory, operational, aircraft capability, and infrastructure requirements must still be addressed before the service can be restored.
Romeo said this demonstrates that restoring night-time medical evacuation services requires not only relatively straightforward regulatory and infrastructure improvements, but also the selection of a readily available aircraft better suited to operate safely in Montserrat’s unique environment than the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander.
He said the required measures are relatively low-cost and is standard practice throughout the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies, and other British Overseas Territories.
Romeo, who served as premier of this British Overseas Territory from 2014 to 2019, recalled that 16 days before the eruption of the Soufriere volcano in Montserrat on June, 25, 1997, scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory had warned the Governor and Executive Government Group that Blackburne Airport faced imminent danger and recommended its closure.
At least 19 people were killed when the volcano erupted and a Coroner and Jury concluded that a contributory cause of the deaths of four of the people killed was the continued operation of the airport despite the warnings of imminent danger from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory’s Scientists.
‘Warnings exist to prevent tragedy, not to be remembered after tragedy occurs. The Coroner’s findings remain a sobering reminder of the consequences of failing to act on known risks. Many Montserratians regard those findings as evidence of culpable negligence. Whatever view is taken, the central lesson is clear: known threats to life should be addressed promptly and decisively, especially when funds and other needed resources are readily available,’ Romeo said.
He said that the resolution next week is not about assigning blame, but about protecting lives and restoring confidence in Montserrat’s emergency medical evacuation system.
‘Every 25 June reminds us that the cost of ignoring warnings can be measured in human lives. We owe it to those who died in 1997, to those who may one day need emergency medical evacuation, and to future generations, to ensure that known and foreseeable risks are addressed with urgency, transparency, and determination before another preventable tragedy occurs,’ Romeo added.