Explosion and fire at LPG plant

OPERATIONS came to a halt and an employee was injured when fire broke out at Ramco Industries Limited in San Fernando yesterday.

Selwyn Heeraman,  a 24-year-old helper on the bulk transport unit, suffered third degree burns to 60 percent of his body. Heeraman, of Barrackpore, was working in the off-loading bay at the plant at Shafik Drive when a leak in one of the lines caused an explosion. He was handling the off-loading of tanks of bulk LPG from the wagons to fill into the main storage, while a technician operated a pump nearby. The off-loading bay is located some 100 feet away from the large LPG storage cylinders. The fire broke out around 9 am, according to reports from Ramco Chief Executive Officer Imtiaz Rahaman.

Heeraman, who worked with the company for three years, was scorched on his face, arms, chest, and legs. He was rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) and was admitted to Ward Seven. Up to yesterday afternoon, he was said to be in an unconscious state. The fire was quickly contained by the employees who rushed from several areas around the plant to save Heeraman and stop the fire from spreading. “Some employees reacted heroically, without concern for themselves as they rushed over to help him,” Rahaman said.

Employees of Emergency Response Plan went into action, and the Mon Repos Fire Services and the Emergency Health Services (EHS) arrived on the scene within 15 minutes. “Fortunately it was not a worse situation since our internal staff responded promptly. This does not minimise the situation with Selwyn, but thankfully the situation was contained well,” Rahaman said. No major equipment was destroyed and damage was limited to valves, fittings and hoses in the affected area. An estimate of damage has not yet to been done.  The plant was shut down for several hours as officials from the Fire Serices, NP safety department, and Ramco’s internal safety department inspected the area. By 12.30 pm yesterday operations resumed.