Fuel pump linked to boat’s explosion

Jun 28, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – The fuel boat explosion which left three persons dead on Saturday last has been linked to a fuel pump located at the deck of the vessel.
The explosion on the vessel, Canada Club Georgetown, took place between 16:40 and 17:30hrs while being docked at Mohammed Enterprise’s Wharf located at Friendship on the East Bank Demerara (EBD). Killed in the explosion were the captain of the vessel, Seenarine Persaud, 60 of Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD) and two handymen, Damian Dias, 29, of Sarah Johanna, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and Mark Mangal.

Dead, Seenarine Persaud

Dead, Damion Dias

Speaking with the Kaieteur News yesterday, Fire Chief, Kalamadeen Edoo said investigations have revealed that the explosion was linked to an engine used to pump fuel from the vessel. That engine, the Fire Chief said, is located in front of the vessel’s deck.
Based on the evidence obtained, the three men were at time using the pump to withdraw fuel from the boat. Kaieteur News had reported on Sunday that the vessel was empty at the time of the explosion.
Edoo related that indeed the boat was empty of its fuel cargo because it had returned from a delivery trip of mogas diesel and gasoline fuel at Guyoil Adventure, located on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two. He noted however that after discharging the fuel, the vessel’s tank would not be completely empty and would still have a little left at the bottom.
According to evidence found at the scene of the explosion, Persaud and the two handy men were reportedly using the engine to pump out the “little fuel” which remained in the bottom of the tank. There were filled pails found at the scene on the wharf besides Persaud’s car.
Edoo continued that although the fuel pump is linked to the explosion, there was a spark that ignited the blast but what caused the spark might remain a secret since no one else was there at the time except, Persaud, Dias and Mangal who are all now dead.

Persaud’s car with filled gasoline pails nearby

Nevertheless, others suggested that it could have been that fuel pump had backfired while being “revved up” and a spark from the exhaust might have ignited the fumes from the fuel causing the explosion.
It was a security guard who had heard the loud explosion that afternoon. He reportedly stepped away from his post to investigate and notice flames along with thick black smoke at the bow of the vessel. The security guard alerted his superiors along with the relevant authorities. The first responders to the scene were a team from the Diamond Fire Station.
The bodies of Persaud and the two handymen were found lying close to fuel pump with severe burns.
Canada Club Georgetown is privately owned by Charlie Sewsankar and was contracted by the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) and the Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil) to transport its fuel on a weekly basis.
Sewsankar has since related that he will move to assist the relatives of the men killed in the blast during their time of grief.
Persaud, the captain of the vessel was working with Sewsankar for a number of years and was described by his relatives as a generous, jovial and kind individual. They last saw him about one hour before he was killed in the explosion.