Elderly couple die in Princes Town housefire

An elderly and ailing couple died in a housefire early Sunday morning at their Princes Town home, where they lived alone.

Stroke victim, Doodooman "String" Sankar, 79, and his wife Ramdaye Sankar, 84, were burnt alive. Sankar was a retired driver at the Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC). His wife, who had arthritis in the knees, was a housewife, and they had 11 children and many grandchildren.

A relative said it appeared they tried to escape the flames, as their badly burnt bodies were found in the hallway of the living room and not in the bedroom.

The tragedy happened at about 7.30 am on Sunday at the concrete and wooden house at St Julien’s Road in Princes Town.

A grandson, who asked not to be named, spoke on behalf of the family.

He told Newsday that the couple had difficulties walking, and although they lived alone, several relatives live nearby and took care of the two.

One of the couple’s nearby daughters put them to bed and left on Saturday night.

Around 7.30 am on Sunday, relatives went to the house as they usually do and saw the house in flames.

Neighbours and other relatives were alerted. Two of couple's sons glimpsed inside the house and saw the two on the ground in the living room.

"They were still alive and were on fire. They are not completely immobile. It seems my grandparents were helping themselves out of the house. They had difficulty walking," the grandson said.

"Two of their sons tried to get in the house, but the fire was too much. One got burnt on his head but did not get severe injuries."

The grandson believed that the couple might have been too weak to call for help.

He said the lack of water and bad road are plaguing the community.

"The tanks were empty. By the time help came, it was too late. Everyone is distraught at this time. The fire officers came about an hour after we called the (Princes Town fire) station. A deterring factor is the bad road, so the officers had difficulty getting here."

The grandson recalled that a police van got stuck in a caved-in road in December while responding to a report.

The St Julien Road runs from St Julien’s Village to Hardbargain in Williamsville.

Police said fire officers were a few minutes’ drive away from the house but turned around and used the Williamsville entrance to get to the house because of the bad road.

Scores of villagers gathered at the house to offer condolences to the family.

St Julien/Princes Town North councillor, Latchmi "Nello" Ramdhan, also went to the scene.

He referred to the couple, whom he knew personally, as very humble and nice people.

Commenting on the bad road, Ramdhan said: "This road is probably one of the worst roads in Trinidad. There are over 15 landslips here. I understand that the fire truck was unable to come through because of its weight and the road condition. They (officers) had to go all the way around."

The councillor blamed the Government for the state of the road.

"We (PTRC) have been asking the Ministry of Works and Transport for years now to look at this, and to at least help to restore some of the major landslips.

"This morning’s situation is a very unfortunate one, and I blame it fully and wholly or the Minister of Works and Transport. This is just one situation, but many more could happen.

ASP Jaikaran, Inspector Ramlogan, Sgt Reid, PCs Champman, Clarence and Rampersad and other Southern Division police were at the scene.

The cause of the fire or the cost of the damage are yet to be determined.

PC Champman is leading investigations.