Pensioner dies of smoke inhalation

The autopsy was performed on Thursday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

The pensioner’s badly burnt body was found by relatives at his Palm Avenue, Esperanza Village home on Wednesday evening.

Doctors said that 80 percent of the elderly man’s body was burnt.

According to a police report, at about 3.30pm Ramnanan’s son, Sunil went to the family home in Couva to check on his father after efforts to contact him on his cellphone proved futile.

Reports said when Sunil arrived at the family home, he saw smoke coming from the back of the house.

The son said he called out to his father several times but received no response.

Minutes later, he heard his father’s groans approximately 500 feet from the house near a bushy area.

Sunil then found his father’s burnt body.

“When he was found he had burns about his entire body and the groans had stopped.

“He had on a tall boots and where the boots covered his legs he did not get burn,” said the emotional son. Ramnanan was rushed to the Couva Health Centre and later transferred to the San Fernando General hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10.45pm. Speaking with Newsday at the family home, Sunil said that the death of his father came as a shock to the family.

“It was really unexpected in the manner he was taken from us,” he said.

He told Newsday his father was a very active man for his age.

“He loved cleaning and loved to see the backyard clean always and would take it upon himself to clean the area, by burning the grass,” he explained.

He believes that his father may have stumbled and fell unto the burning garbage he set.

“My father had problems with his legs, so I believe he fell and inhaled the smoke and could not get up so and he burnt there,” the tearful son said.

Ramnanan would be cremated at the Waterloo Cremation Site following a funeral service at the family Couva home on Sunday.

Investigations are continuing.