Tragedy has gripped the community of West Minster on the West Bank of Demerara following an early morning fire that claimed the lives of a 75-year-old woman and her 44-year-old disabled daughter.
The two women who died, Felis Smith and her daughter Ventina Smith, lived in the two bedroom house with other family members.
The Guyana Police Force reported that reports of the fire were first received at around 5 o’clock this morning.
One of the other occupants in the house, 21-year-old Chandine Sookraj, who is the daughter of the elderly woman, said when she retired to bed at around 9pm on Thursday, all was well in the house. She explained to the investigators that her bedridden mother and sister occupied the backroom in the house.
According to the young woman, she was awakened in her room by a sudden heat that was coming from the back of the house. She said her checks revealed the room where her mother and sister were sleeping engulfed in flames.
Ms. Sookraj said she grabbed her 4-year-old daughter and with the assistance of neighbours, they were able to escape through one of the doors of the house. She said she could not rush back into the building and watched on helplessly as the house went up in flames.
The Guyana Fire Service responded with two tenders, but their efforts could not save the wooden house from completely being gutted.
When they were eventually able to completely douse the blaze, the Police and Fire investigators said they discovered the charred remains of the elderly woman and her daughter. Both bodies were discovered in a corner of the room.
The bodies were removed and a post mortem examination is to be carried out on both bodies. A cause of the fire is still to be determined. Investigators have taken statements from the surviving daughter and from other persons in the area. The probe is ongoing.
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