Houston Fishing Complex explosion...Owners resume operations, dead worker’s family still to be compensated

Houston Fishing Complex explosion…Owners resume operations, dead worker’s family still to be compensated

May 01, 2017 News

B M Enterprise fishing complex located at the Guyana Fisheries Limited (GFL) wharf at Houston East Bank Demerara continues to operate even as questions linger as to what safety measures were put in place following a deadly explosion a few months ago.
That explosion resulted in the death of 52 year old Carlton Megan, a mechanic who was almost beheaded after an ice making machine exploded, hurling him from the top floor of the ice complex. Another man, Ukesh Persaud, also sustained injuries.
At the time of the explosion Guyana Fire Service (GFS) Divisional Commander Compton Sparman said that the men were repairing an ice making machine.
“They were looking after an ice box engine. They were welding and there was gas in the area and there was a semi-explosion that pelted him (Megan) off (the building) and broke his neck,” Sparman said.
The Fire Service official said that after examining the area, he concluded that there was some negligence. “There was gas in the area (where the men were working), and a lot of gas bottles there.”

Deceased: Carlton Meghan

The damaged building at the time of the explosion

When Kaieteur News returned to the area yesterday, an employee said that the fishing company was up and running the day after the tragedy.
The blown out zinc sheets were replaced and work men could be seen at the same ice house going about their work. The men that were present at the site could not say if the establishment had the necessary clearance to continue to do work there.
One man who did not give his name but was in charge of the operations, said that he was not sure if the GFS gave the necessary clearance to the company owners to resume work in light of the observations by the fire service.
On the issue of compensation for the Megan’s family, the man said that an agreement has already been drafted and is with the man’s widow. The official also said that the family was satisfied with the agreement but due to working constraints the woman could not come into the complex to finalize that agreement.
On the day of the explosion, Megan and Persaud were using welding equipment while fixing the compressor from an ice-making machine when the compressor exploded. There were reports that Megan was bending over the compressor at the time. Someone who visited the scene said that they heard the blast all the way in Georgetown. Employees that were working nearby ran for cover because they thought a bomb had exploded.
When Kaieteur News arrived at the scene, Megan’s mangled body, with head almost severed, was on the wharf, while parts from the exploded compressor were strewn nearby. The force of the explosion had also ripped a gaping hole in the zinc sheets at the top of the building where the men were working.