Deadly Corentyne fire: Father arrested on cattle rustling report released from custody

…returns home to face tragedy

Berbice police have released Rohan Ramjattan, called “Map Head”, the cattle farmer who had fathered the four children who perished in a fire on Tuesday, when two houses were destroyed at Number 64 Village, Corentyne.
Arrested by the police on Monday afternoon for cattle rustling, Ramjattan was in custody when his home went up in flames and his wife and four of his five children perished.
Police have arrested a teen family member following that tragic incident which claimed the lives of 34-year-old Hemwattie Singh and her five children: Kelvin Ramjattan, called “Rovin”, 14; Brandon Ramjattan, called “Ravin”, a 10-year-old child living with a disability; Cindy Ramjattan, called “Emily”, an 11-year-old student of New Market Primary School; and Tomesh Ramjattan, called “Arvin”, a 2-year-old toddler.
According to a source close to the police, the teenager arrested was being sought by investigators in relation to other matters; and up to Wednesday afternoon, he was still in police custody.
The investigation into the fire continues, and police are awaiting the outcome of autopsies to be conducted on the remains.

RECAP
At approximately 02:00h on Tuesday, a fire erupted at the two-storey home of Hemwattie Singh at Number 64 Village, Corentyne while she and her five children were asleep in the building.
Police Headquarters have issued a statement on the tragedy, detailing that Singh’s 17-year-old son was asleep in the verandah on the upper flat of the building when he was awakened by the sound of an explosion and the crackling of a fire.
The teen ran downstairs to where his mother and siblings were located, and noticed that they were already awake and trying to escape from the burning building. The family tried to run out of the house, but the intense heat generated by the flames forced them to turn back and head upstairs, where they became trapped by the fire.
This 17-year-old managed to escape, and had sought help for the family, but to no avail.