Odour in Pt Fortin forces closure of bank, school

Also affected was the administration office of the Point Fortin Borough Corporation, which sent workers home early.

In a media release, state-owned oil company Petrotrin said the company was “investigating reports of strong hydrocarbon odours in the Techier Village and Mahaica communities neighbouring its Point Fortin operations.

“Upon receiving initial reports earlier today, the company’s emergency responders visited the identified areas and commenced investigations,” Petrotrin said, adding that under the National Oil Spills Contingency Plan, it had also established an Incident Command Centre to manage its emergency response.

Petrotrin stated that arrangements have been made for residents affected by the odours to obtain treatment at Petrotrin’s Medical Centre in Point Fortin.

However, residents of Tenth Street Extension, Teschier village said they had not been told about any medical arrangements by the company, but were only told not to cook using open flames or use their microwaves.

One resident, Reea Williams, who was among a group who had assembled on a bridge overlooking a dark and oily river , said they began smelling the fumes on Tuesday evening.

“We don’t know what going on here, nobody coming and saying anything, all we are seeing is oil floating in the water,” she said, adding some residents had complained about vomiting and nausea associated with the fumes.

“It have two fan in the house and we can’t even sleep, we eyes burning,” she said. “Somebody have to come and tell us what is happening.” Another resident said they may have to resort to blocking the roads should their cries for help go unanswered.

Meanwhile, Petrotrin said the Ministry of Energy, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and all other relevant regulatory agencies had been notified.