Three men sustained a range of burns to their bodies during a mid-afternoon explosion at the Demerara Oxygen Company Limited (DOCOL), at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, where they were loading a truck with gas cylinders.
The company did not divulge the name of the injured workers but according to Chief Executive Officer Shameer Hoosein the men were not seriously injured. The men were treated at a private city hospital and up to press time last evening Stabroek News was unable to find them or their relatives.
A resident reported that after the 3pm explosion she saw three men on fire running at lightning-speed towards the front of the compound. The woman told this newspaper that she has never seen the employees of the gas plant wearing any safety clothing or head gear while conducting their duties. The resident related that smoke was also coming from the cylinders that were already in the truck. The woman said that the other employees who were in the compound became confused and they too started to run. “Is like none of them didn’t know what to do,” she said.
However, when contacted, Hoosein said that men were not on fire. Earlier, he told reporters that the incident occurred at the cooking gas plant, which was not damaged. He said that presently it is unclear how the fire started but when fire service officials arrived the small blaze had already been quelled. He pointed out that the firemen arrived quickly on the scene.
Meanwhile, Hoosein emphasised that the company is “big” on occupational health and safety and has strong policies in place. He noted that the incident would in no way affect the public as the company has back up supplies at the Eccles site as well as in New Amsterdam.
However, a resident of Back Street, Eccles, near the DOCOL Plant, said that she was fearful of remaining in the area because of the gas odour always present in the air. The woman said that several complaints were made to senior officials at the company but the situation was never rectified. She recalled that about a year ago a woman had complained to the company that the gas was affecting her three-day-old baby and officials promised to look into the situation. However, the problem remains.
She said too that the daily spray painting of gas cylinders are also affecting residents. The woman yesterday said that it is unfair to have a gas plant in a populated area and pointed out that it would be catastrophic if there was a major incident.
Hoosein told this newspaper that “it (the smell of gas)” doesn’t mean anything and is not dangerous to persons living in the area. He said that there will always be “some scent” in the area surrounding any plant but he stressed that the smell poses no danger to persons.
