A fire, suspected to be electrical in origin, destroyed a Line Path guesthouse in the wee hours of Saturday morning, leaving the owner with millions of dollars in losses.
Businessman Swarendra Sukhpaul, 42, of Springlands, Corentyne, who owned the nine-bedroom two storey building, popularly known as “Embassy building,” told Sunday Stabroek that he was informed of the fire just around 2.45 am yesterday.
He explained that he rushed to the location while calling the Fire Service, which arrived shortly after and went into action. However, they were unable to save anything as the entire building was already engulfed in flames.
Sukhpaul, who also operates several gas stations within the region, could only watch on as the flames ravaged his building. He also recounted that firefighters had to get water five different times while battling the fire.
According to Sukhpaul, he last visited the building about one week ago and everything was intact. However, he said, residents in the community have since reported that the power supply in the area was fluctuating for some time.
As of yesterday, Sukhpaul could not give a detailed estimate of losses but he stressed that it was in the “millions.”
He has owned the property, which often houses persons visiting from neighbouring Suriname, for over five years.
The devastated businessman yesterday said that he was working to open the restaurant at the location to the public. “We done do the design and so and put everything in place but everything destroy now,” he said.
The Guyana Fire Service has since launched an investigation, while Sukhpaul has said that the building is insured.
