Gas bottle ruled out in deadly explosion at Mobil gas station

Last Updated on Monday, 27 October 2025, 20:32 by Writer

No cooking gas cylinder, also known as a ‘gas bottle’, was involved in Sunday night’s deadly explosion at the Mobil gas station on Regent and King streets, Georgetown, where a car was destroyed and one child was killed, authorities said.

While the Guyana Police Force did not issue a statement on the incident the Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond shortly before midnight identified the dead child aa six-year-old Soraya Bourne. “My heart goes out to the Bourne family during this unimaginably painful time,” she said.

Ms Walrond said four others were hospitalisd.

“As a mother and as Minister of Home Affairs, I share in their grief. The Ministry stands ready to provide every possible support to the affected families,” she added.

The explosion occurred at about 7:24 p.m. The fire service received the emergency call at 7:30 p.m.and firefighters first arrived on the scene at 7:34 p.m.

A fire service official said there was no evidence at the scene that a gas bottle caused the incident. “From initial investigation, no we haven’t seen any cylinder,” the official said.

Instead, people reported seeing white and then black smoke in the few minutes leading up to the explosion.

Police investigators were reportedly tasked with determining whether there was an explosive device or the car malfunctioned.

People nearby the scene said a woman parked the car, exited and went to make a purchase at KFC before the car was engulfed in smoke in the few minutes leading up to the loud bang.

The incident also resulted in damage to the Mobil convenience store, Acme’s building and an adjacent cambio. The glass windows of a building on the north-western corner of Regent and King Streets were shattered.

A sound and a vibration associated with the explosion were heard and felt around distant sections of the capital city.