Corentyne man perishes in Sunday morning fire

The charred remains of an elderly man were found on Sunday morning after a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed his one-flat wooden home at Jackson Creek, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The dead man has been identified as 61-year-old Roy Rajbanse. Based on information received, the fire started about 06:00h. At the time of the blaze, the now dead man was alone at his home, which had no form of electricity and was located in an isolated area, surrounded by bushes.
Passersby observed smoke and huge flames emanating from the home and immediately raised an alarm. The house was reportedly already engulfed in flames, but at the time, persons were not aware that Rajbanse was trapped in the inferno.
The Guyana Fire Service and the Police were summoned to the area. The firefighters reportedly took a while to travel to the area and most of the house was already gutted when they arrived. Nevertheless, the firefighters swung into action and were able to put out the blaze.
It was after the fire was contained that persons started to enquire about the home’s elderly occupant. Soon after, the firefighters reportedly found the remains of the elderly man.
Guyana Times understands that the elderly man lived with his 24-year-old son Christopher Ally, a fisherman who is currently at sea.
On Saturday evening, this publication was told, Rajbanse and a friend, Raymond Jordan, a farmer of Moleson Creek, were imbibing and smoking cigarettes in front of his house. The men subsequently became intoxicated.
Rajbanse reportedly went into his house while Jordan went home. A few hours later, the house was ablaze.
The remains of Rajbanse were taken to Bailey’s Funeral Home to await a post-mortem.