GUYANA: Two die in early morning fire

Last Updated on Monday, 17 November 2014, 10:32 by GxMedia

Two girls perished in an early Monday morning fire in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown widely believed to be the work of arsonists.

The fire began shortly after 2 am at the building located on the southwestern side of Robb and King Streets.

The names of the girls, ages between 11 and 15 years, were given as Theresa Rosario and Clarissa Rosario. Their father, 68-year old Mr. Cyril Thomas, who lived with them in one of the upper flats jumped from the burning building. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was being treated for severe burns.

A senior fire officer told Caribbean News Desk that when fire fighters arrived on the scene, the building was well alight and even if they had initially known that persons were trapped in the building they would have been unable to rescue them.

The charred remains of the girls were recovered shortly before 6 AM. Police were summoned to the scene to conduct investigations. The girls were previously rescued from the building during a failed attempted several years ago to burn the building.

The old colonial wooden building that once housed the Harold’s scrap metal store more than 15 years ago was recently undergoing a makeover that saw a wholesale distributorship and an ice cream parlour being opened.

Unconfirmed reports are that a car arrived on the scene and explosive devices were hurled at the structure.