Counselling is expected to continue this week for staff at Annotto Bay Hospital in St Mary who were left grief-stricken Monday on learning that 36-year-old Nigerian doctor Ubong Etti died after the car in which he was a passenger plunged over a precipice. The early morning crash also left three Ghanaian doctors injured.

Senior medical officer for Annotto Bay Hospital Dr Glenton Strachan told the Jamaica Observer that Dr Etti had worked in the internal medicine department since March of this year. He said though he had only known Etti for a month, he had displayed great promise during their interactions.

The three injured doctors worked in the obstetric, general surgery and internal medicine departments for the past three to six months. The crash occurred as they were returning home after attending an event in Kingston.

Dr Strachan said the hospital family is in shock and mourning.

“Grief counselling has started and will continue over the week to guide us through this difficult time,” he said on Monday, shortly after word came of the crash.

“The other three survivors are all doing well physically but, as expected, they are going through emotional trauma. They are all expected to recover but remain closely monitored,” Dr Strachan added.

According to a media release from the police, the incident occurred on the Golden Valley main road in Castleton, St Mary, about 5:50 am on Easter Monday. Dr Etti was one of four people in a blue Honda Fit car travelling from Kingston towards Annotto Bay.

“Upon reaching a section of the roadway, the driver swerved to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle, hit an embankment, and plummeted into a precipice. The vehicle then came to rest on the embankment of a river. The police and fire brigade were alerted, and on their arrival all four persons were transported to hospital where Etti was pronounced dead and the others treated. The investigation is ongoing,” read the release.