Plipdeco burnt employee

Mills, 55, a Reach Stacker operator of Arima, is warded in the hospital’s Burns Unit at Pointe-a Pierre.

The worker sustained serious burns to the face and hands when the incident happened on Thursday. At the time, a container was being reloaded with inflammable liquid.

The incident occurred at the Plipdeco port in Point Lisas.

Speaking to Newsday at the hospital yesterday, Mills’ brother Harold, 38, flew in from Barbados to be at his brother’s bedside.

“All we can do is hope for a miracle....my brother’s face, hands and fingers are swollen....honestly I do not like how my brother is looking......when the nurses telephoned me in Barbados and told me what had happened, I had no idea my brother’s condition was so serious,” Harold said.

Harold said the last time he heard Mills voice was about 3:30 pm on Thursday when he related what happened.

“Burkley told me that he was going to load a container when all of sudden he heard an explosion and he began running. He was telling me that his face was burning when all of a sudden, he stopped speaking.”

Another brother - Arthur, 50, - was expected to fly in from the US today. “I only took two days emergency leave so I am expected to return to my job in Barbados today. But if my brother does not get a flight over the weekend, I would have to extend my stay because I cannot leave my brother’s side.

Since mummy died the three of us have looked out for each other, we are very close,” Harold told Newsday.