Gas company worker severely burnt in explosion
Jody Cross will forever remember January 27, 2020, and it is not for good reasons. It was the day that she got the horrifying news that her older brother, Nimoy Cross, was badly burnt in a fire.
The 36-year-old driver assistant on a Petcom truck was filling a gas cylinder at Villa Road Primary School in Mandeville, Manchester, when an explosion occurred, triggering an end to classes for the day.
According to school officials, at approximately 9:30 a.m., the cooking gas suppliers visited the institution to fill the gas tanks for the cafeteria when they became aware of a leak.
Soon after, there was an explosion, which caused damage to sections of the roof and floor of the cafeteria.
Five persons were injured, including Cross, who suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body. Another man received first-degree burns, while the other three individuals had minor burns.
TRANSFERRED TO KPH
Three of the five injured are workers in the school canteen.
Cross was later transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital.
“It is one of my worst days,” said Jody, who visited her brother in the hospital yesterday.
“He doesn’t look anything like my brother … . I broke down. The doctors were telling me that the greatest thing is he’s alive … [that] they don’t usually live when they are that badly burnt. They said that they don’t see any internal damage so that is good, but he will need plastic surgery,” she said.
But that is little comfort to Jody, who is worried about whether her brother will be able to make a full recovery and lead a normal life once more.