2
injured
in
oil
tank
explosion
By Richard Charan
Trinidad Express, South Bureau
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
09 23 07
A tiny spark is believed to have triggered an oil storage tank explosion that
burned two men at a Petrotrin facility in Siparia.
Oil contract workers Roland Seechan, 42, and Aaron
Jairam, 20, were listed in a serious but stable
condition at the San Fernando General last night.
Communications manager of state-owned oil company
Petrotrin, Arnold Corneal, said the burns were
not considered life threatening.
The explosion on Tuesday evening was similar in
many ways to one that occurred in the Guapo, Palo
Seco oilfields six months ago, when five men were
horribly burned.
The five had been servicing an oil rig in Palo
Seco, when a flame or lighted cigarette sparked
a natural gas explosion, it is believed.
The men ran a mile, helping one another rip off
burning boots and clothing.
It took them two hours before getting help. Workers
at another oil installation took them to hospital.
One of the men, Dave Namdeo, 25, died a week later.
In Tuesday's incident, Jairam and Seechan, both
of Penal, were luckier. There were half a dozen
other workers close by when it happened.
The men work for Trincan Oil Limited, based at
Coora Road, Siparia. At nightfall, Jairam, an electrician,
was installing a floodlight so that the crew could
work on the facility, known as Tank 7, on the Coora/Quinam
Road.
It is believed that flammable vapours in the tank
ignited. The burning men were rescued by co-workers.
Both suffered first and second degree burns to
the face, arms and legs. The tank was scorched
to a height of 20 feet.
Seechan was reported to be the more seriously
injured. He was in the Intensive Care Unit last
night.
His
brother Prem said: "He is talking but
slowly. He is burned real bad, and we don't know
how he will do."
Corneal said in a statement that fire fighters
and paramedics responded and the injured men were
taken to the Gulf View Medical Centre, La Romaine,
and transferred to the Burns Unit at the San Fernando
General Hospital.
Corneal
said the company had high health and safety standards
that all lease operators had to follow,
and that the company "cannot be everywhere
all the time".
The explosion is being investigated by Petrotrin
and officials of the Energy Ministry and the Occupational
Safety and Health agency.
Trinidad
Express
Thursday, September 20th 2007
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©2007 Trinidad
Express . All Rights Reserved.
