00:00The evening routine at Ramco's cross-crossing San Fernando plant was shattered with a loud
00:09and eerie explosion. It was about 6.55 and painter employed with Ramco Christian Charles
00:16was at the lunchroom when he heard the explosion. Charles ventured outside to see a tanker truck
00:22together with several cylinders on fire. Amid the melee as employees scampered out of the facility,
00:29it was later discovered four of his colleagues, Nairon Dewsbury of New Grand, Videsh Haripasad of
00:35Williamsville, Chris Jagai of Penal and Ashok Sahadew of Langwa were all injured. The four were
00:43all rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital and listed in critical condition. The Express reported
00:49as of Thursday night, Sahadew and Jagai were being treated at the high dependency unit and the
00:55intensive care unit respectively, while Dewsbury and Haripasad were undergoing surgery. When the
01:02Express contacted relatives of the four injured men on Friday, the relatives remained tight-lipped
01:08about the incident and the status of their injured relatives. One resident, Tekla Wellington Lange,
01:15who lives alongside the plant, recounts the traumatic experience which left scores of residents
01:21scurrying up the hill for safety.
01:23My big daughter came and she said, Mommy, Mommy, Ramco burning down, so we got to leave. So we left
01:29everything, house open, didn't bother to take up a phone, a wallet, nothing. And our neighbors,
01:36everybody, we just ran up the hill for cover and there was like explosion after explosion. It was
01:41terrible. I've never experienced something like this and I wouldn't like it to happen again.
01:47But the trauma, she explains, will remain with them for a while as the fear of this happening again lives
01:54with their every thought since last night's explosion.
01:57My concern is that we live so close to this, um, to Ramco. Um, I hope that it will happen again,
02:08you know, so we are hoping and praying that in God's grace that everything would be okay.
02:13Where were you in the 45 minutes? We were, um, we were up the hill. We all ran and everybody,
02:21neighbors, everybody were up on the hill there, which was the safest thing for us at that time.
02:26How many people they would say were a garden grasshopper? A lot of people, over 20-something people.
02:34And what was it more like? Everybody was scared. Everybody was frightened. Everybody was just
02:40thinking, you know, if this thing would spread, what is going to happen? Our homes, our, that,
02:45you know, you worked so hard for all these years and wondering what is going to happen.
02:49The residents are calling for a meeting with Ramco's management to address their safety concerns.
02:55The fire was eventually contained by officers of the Mon Repo Fire Station. Police visited the scene
03:01and made inquiries. Ramco issued a statement late on Thursday evening, saying the fire was
03:07swiftly contained. Ramco says all unaffected employees were promptly and safely evacuated,
03:14and they shared thoughts and prayers with the affected employees and their families,
03:18expressing a commitment to support them. Ramco said it is cooperating fully with the relevant
03:24authorities as investigations continue. And it says the safety and well-being of employees,
03:30the community and stakeholders remains its highest priority. On site was Minister of Energy, Dr.
03:36Rudal Munilal, in whose constituency the plant is situated. He received a preliminary briefing from
03:43authorities on site. The fire service acted, uh, we are informed, uh, quite professionally and had adequate
03:52resources to, um, extinguish the blaze and get the blaze under control, uh, with both water and foam.
04:01And, um, it has been under control there. While there are safety issues to be addressed,
04:07Dr. Munilal says of primary concern is the health and safety of the injured men. Tomorrow,
04:13we'll receive a report from the preliminary report from the fire services and the OSH agency will also
04:20be activated to conduct, uh, their statutory, uh, duties and circumstances like these. Um, as the,
04:28uh, the population may know that Ramco Industries is a significant supplier of LPG in the market in
04:34Trinidad and Tobago. And, um, we, from the standpoint of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries,
04:40we also have a concern with that matter, but our overriding concern now is with the human beings,
04:46with employees to ensure that they get the best care in the circumstances. Meanwhile, the
04:51Occupational Safety and Health Agency issued a statement this afternoon saying it is actively
04:57investigating the incident. OSHA says inspectors have been deployed to the site and have already begun
05:03conducting interviews, reviewing site documentation, and inspecting physical conditions to determine
05:09contributing factors and identify any breaches of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
05:16The agency acknowledged all persons that have been negatively affected and emphasized to stakeholders
05:22and the general public the critical issues of all employers, occupiers, and employees,
05:28as contained in the OSHA Act, get towards creating and maintaining safety at work.
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