Mother of worker who died after NiQuan accident: NOBODY AIN'T TELLING US NOTHING

RELATIVES of the late Allan Lane Ramkissoon, 35, are demanding answers from NiQuan Energy Trinidad Ltd (NETL) as to how their loved one met a fiery death on June 15.

“We want honesty, we want the truth,” his younger sister Ruth Lane Ramkissoon-Balgobin told the Newsday at the family's St Croix Road, Barrackpore, home on Tuesday.

“We want to know what happened. We want to know how my brother died. We want to know who is responsible for this. Words cannot express how we are feeling right now but we need answers about my brother’s death.”

She said they had been given little information by either Ramkissoon's employer Massy Energy Engineered Solutions Ltd (MEES), where he worked as a pipe-fitter, or from NiQuan, which had contracted MEES to do work for that company and where the incident occurred.

She said she does not want this to be another Paria tragedy, where a commission of enquiry would have to be set up to get answers.

Ramkissoon-Balgobin said Ramkissoon's wife, Sarah, who accompanied him to Colombia for treatment at a specialised burns unit, had been the family's main source of information.

Ramkissoon-Balgobin said when they were told on Thursday morning that her brother suffered burns at the plant and was taken to Southern Medical Centre, her family was not allowed to see him.

“Only his wife and their two children were allowed to see him.

“My parents were hurt that they did not get to see him alive for the last time,” she wept.

Her mother Christine, who was sitting quietly on a chair as Ramkissoon-Balgobin combed her hair, said, “This is so sad and so tragic, I want to know how my son died.

“He died and I do not know how he died. I did not get to see him physically for the last time. I saw him on video call, and that was it.

"We eh know what go on. Nobody ain't telling us nothing.”

Christine said Allan was the third of her nine children to have died. One of her sons died as a child while covid19 claimed the life of her eldest daughter.

“He was a good son. He took care of me. He was a great help to me. He would take me to the clinic, buy groceries and help me out in everything I do.”

Christine, who walks with the aid of a stick, said Ramkissoon promised to “fix her knee” and her husband’s cataract.

Looking around at the dirt path leading to the family's home she said, "He promised to cast the driveway for me and now he is gone. I am really missing him.”

Her husband who sat quietly nearby, said he did not know if he could get over Ramkissoon's death.

“This is the worst we have experienced in this family. It would take a long time before we can get over it. I don’t know if we could ever get over it.”

Ramkissoon-Balgobin described her brother as the “backbone of the family.

"We had so much tragedy in the past few years, losing three members of the family to covid19. He just wanted his parents and siblings to be happy.”

About the accident, she said, “We were told he went to change a pipe, and when he detached the first pipe, a co-worker who was with him said they saw fire.”

She said her brother, who was also on fire, suffered third-degree burns to 60 per cent of his body.

“It was a confined space and he was told to jump. He jumped, fell to the ground and started rolling. We heard that approximately an hour later an ambulance came and took him to the medical centre.

“He left the country Friday night, and he had surgery on Saturday.

“We were told it was successful, he was doing well, but on Sunday morning we got a call from his wife around 4.30 am telling us that his lungs was gathering fluid, his kidneys were failing, and his heart rate was at 60 per cent. She told us to pray for God to turn around the situation.”

“On Sunday, Father’s Day, we went to church to pray for victory.

"My sister and Allan got a nice silver chain with a cross on it for my dad. My dad got the gift, but Allan was not there to give it to him. It was really tough for my dad.”

She said they did not experience the victory they were praying for, but the family was strong and trying to cope.

Ramkissoon-Balgobin said her mother had been instructed to submit a DNA test before Ramkissoon's body could be returned to TT.

In a statement on Monday, The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries said it had set up a four-man team to investigate Ramkissoon's death and to determine what caused the accident.

The ministry asked all parties involved to co-operate with its team.

In its own statement on Tuesday night, NiQuan Energy offered condolences to Ramkissoon's family and assured all appropriate measures were being taken to respond to the requirements of all investigations.