FIVE hours after an 88-year-old man died at a private city hospital his Mahaicony Creek, East Coast Demerara (ECD) house went up in flames Tuesday evening. The dead man has been identified as veteran rice farmer Angad Panday. He lived at Esau and Jacob, Mahaicony Creek, ECD.Reports reveal that Panday, who died from an illness, had been living with his son, two grandchildren and daughter-in-law. This newspaper understands that Panday’s son, Paul, was awakened by smoke sometime after 23:00hrs and it appeared as if the fire had started in the vicinity of the kitchen. They all managed to escape.
According to residents, the closest fire station is two hours away and no one could have assisted with extinguishing the fire. It was also noted that all the vehicles in the yard were destroyed by the fire. These included: two tractors, two cars, two motorcycles and a pick-up. An investigation has since been launched. (Rabindra Rooplall)