A recently purchased stove is believed to be the source of an explosion that damaged a small eatery at New City Mall in Port-of-Spain yesterday.
The explosion, which occurred around 11 am, rocked the mall and sent business owners and shoppers scampering out as the shop’s ceiling was dislodged and a glass showcase blew out sending shards flying in all directions.
The business, which is owned by San Juan resident Omadaye Sookram and her husband Adwin Edwards has been operating for the past 15 years.
Sookram did not suffer any injuries in the explosion but her employee, Lisa Lee, of Las Alturas, Morvant, suffered first and second-degree burns, and cuts to her hands from the broken glass. She was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where she underwent a minor procedure before being discharged.
Sookram said it was the first time she had experienced such an incident, and she is now wondering if the stove, which cost her $3,500, was up to standard.
“The glass on the back shattered and fell off last week,” she said, adding that she dismissed it when it happened.
“To me, it wasn’t nothing big, it was just glass.”
She is now worried about how she is going to provide for her 11-year-old son who returns to school tomorrow.
“This is my only form of income. I don’t know what I will do now as my whole shop mash up,” she said.
Sookram said she was initially told by fire officials that the oven blew up but was later told that it was a result of the gas head she had been using. She was unable to say if and how she would start over now as her savings were tied into the business.
Damage has been estimated at over $30,000.
