A midday fire at Puruni Landing in the Mazaruni River, Region 7 completely destroyed 15 buildings and claimed two lives.
An alarm was raised in the gold mining community just after 11 o’clock this morning as one of the buildings was seen engulfed in flames. There is no fire service in the area, so the fire quickly spread to the other neaby buildings and gutted a number of vehicles also, according to reports.
Nine of the buildings that were destroyed were owned by businesswoman, Yvette McDonald, four other buildings were owned by businessman Floyd Elcock and one of the buildings that was destroyed in the blaze was owned by boat captain, William Cozier.
The destroyed buildings housed a number of businesses including a restaurant, a grocery store and four hotels.
A police report of the incident said that it is suspected that two persons lost their lives in the blaze after being trapped in one of the buildings. Their identities are unknown.
It is suspected that the fire started in fuel bond that was located in one of the buildings. According to reports, while fuel was being sold in bulk, there was a spill that was ignited, leading to the inferno.
Persons in the area were left confused and helpless as the fire quickly spread to a second fuel bond and got out of control.
Some residents eventually started to use a dredge that was in the Puruni river to douse the blaze.
The fire was eventually put out by the residents of the area, but by that time the 15 buildings and a number of vehicles were already destroyed.
A report on the incident stated that none of the buildings was insured, and losses are likely to be in the millions.
Police investigators have since traveled into the area to probe the incident.
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