On Friday night, we told you about the explosion which killed a Mennonite tradesman. Well, four days after thirty eight year old Abram Enns died, his two young children four year old Abram Jr. and six year old Jacob were flown out of the country to receive further medical care for the severe burns the siblings received all over their bodies. So a father dead, and his two boys perilously burnt. It's one of the worst accidents we've seen and the following video provided by CTV-3 in Orange Walk shows how bad it was. Jacqueline Godwin reports.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
The tragedy occurred around one on Friday afternoon at Camp Fourteen situated in Shipyard Village in the Orange Walk District.. Reports are that Enns, a Mennonite tradesman was welding stairs unto a 750 gallon oil tank when there was a massive explosion. Enns had finished working on the first step when it is believed the tank's residual crude oil ignited by either heat or sparks from the welding.
According to one of the employees, Enrique Klassen, the tank had been used for crude oil. They thought it had been completely emptied and they wanted to
put it back up to use for diesel storage. But the residual crude, combined with oxygen from the atmosphere - needed only a spark. Klassen explained what he saw.
Enrique Klassen, Employee
"He welded the tank and it blew, I was welding on the other side, but he was soldering in that tank. And when he welded in that I heard that tank rupture and watched the fire and (then) watched the children who were running with their pants on fire. I ran to put out the fire which was on them and asked where is the boss, where is the boss, and they told me and I went running for the power wash to put water to put out the fire and I saw that he was dead."
Enns received multiple injuries to his face and body and died on the spot. The explosion was so great that it blew the tank's lid and other debris twenty five feet away. The garage roof was also set on fire. For 7NEWS, Jacqueline Godwin.
Those with experience in this field tell us that the tank's being empty made it more combustible than if it had been full. And that's because of the presence of a high volume of oxygen.
