Second NFM victim dies

Blenman, 36, of George Street, Ste Madeleine, died at about 6 am yesterday at the Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami.

Blenman was one of the two employees severely burnt in the October 20 explosion which occurred in the preparation plant at the Edible Oil Complex, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

Blenman was being treated for third degree burns to the head, face and feet. He was a utility attendant with the company for the past eight years. Blenman’s co-worker Sunil Persad, 30, a preparation technician of Munroe Road, Cunupia, died last week at the same hospital.

No conclusive cause of the explosion has been identified, but company officials maintain that it occurred as a result of an operational malfunction.

Blenman’s wife, Lisa, who is six months pregnant, and his three sisters and brother, were at his bedside when he died. The couple had been married for a year.

When Newsday visited the family’s home yesterday, Blenman’s mother Shirley and son Sadell sat quietly in the house. Describing her son as a respectable, fun-loving person "who could be serious at times," she praised NFM for the support the company’s management has provided to them throughout the ordeal.