Arrest soon in Caroni blaze - police

POLICE believe an arrest is imminent in connection with Saturday morning’s fire which destroyed Caroni’s Industrial Relations Department at Sevilla Club, Brechin Castle, Couva.

Up to late yesterday police investigators were interrogating two young men of the district about the fire which occurred around 1 am after the two watchmen on duty at the building were accosted. The watchmen have since given statements to detectives of how they were confronted by two men, one armed with a gun, who tied them up. Police would not confirm whether or not the two are employees of Caroni. Within minutes there were two loud explosions inside the building. By the time firemen reached the scene, the roof of the building which also housed the Human Resource Department, had been gutted. Police took statements from the watchmen, who according to reports, stated that although the men who attacked them did not wear masks, the area at the time was too dark to catch a clear glimpse of their faces.

Fire officials said yesterday that the blaze was caused by an inflamable substance which appeared to have been scattered on the floor of one of the rooms. It is in one of the rooms that the VSEP offer to Caroni’s daily and monthly-paid employees are being processed on a daily basis. Of the 9,000-plus workers in the company’s employ, approximately 4,000 have signed acceptance forms for VSEP. Next week Wednesday is the deadline for submission of forms. President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Trade Union, Rudy Indarsingh, told Newsday yesterday that he has since spoken to the police about the incident. “I have spoken to a senior police officer about the matter at the Couva Police Station. I have not been informed as to what led to the fire,” Indarsingh said. The union president said that he felt a deep sense of sadness and concern about the destruction of the building since Sevilla Club was a historical structure which had great significance in the sugar industry.