Tuesday 29 July 2014

Families evacuated after Trinidad oil leak.

Several families have been forced to evacuate their homes after an oil well in Penal on southwest Trinidad began leaking at about 11 pm local time on Saturday 26 July 2014. Resident in the area have described being woken by a loud noise that sounded like and explosion, then seeing oil and gas spraying about 12 m into the air and raining down on rooftops and gardens, a situation which persisted for at several hours before operators Petrotrin were able to shut it off. A clean-up operation in the village went on for much of the following day.

Workers clearing up after an oil spill in Penal, Trinidad, on Sunday 27 July 2014. Dave Persad/Trinidad Express.

The Trinidad Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) has called for an investigation into management practices at Petrotrin following an series of similar incidents. Six workers were fired from the company following a leak in December, but the union claims the problems are caused by a systematic failure of management rather than the fault of ordinary workers.

The approximate location of the 26 July 2014 Trinidad oil leak. Google Maps.

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