The body of a third Guyanese was recovered today from the scene of a five-alarm fire in Queens in New York that had already claimed two lives, authorities said, according to the New York Post.
The blaze at 104-19 125th Street in South Ozone Park yesterday killed a husband and wife in their 50s, and the body found in the remains of the destroyed home Saturday was their son, according to neighbours and relatives.
One of the victims, Nanda Balo Persaud, 59, retired from a medical company that made pills, according to his sister, Mohani Persaud.
“He was my brother. What can I really say? He was a good person. I am really sad,” she said.
His wife, Bono Salima “Sally” Persaud, worked at Kennedy Airport and their son, Devon Persaud, was 22, family and neighbours told the NY Post.
The couple also had another son, Boyo, who was at the fire scene today but declined to comment.
“This family perished in the fire and did not deserve to die like this. They were always so welcoming, treated everyone like family, and always tried their best to put a smile on everyone’s faces,” Abid Ally, a cousin of Sally Persaud, wrote on a GoFundMe appeal she created to help fund funeral expenses.
According to the NY Post, she said the family didn’t have the resources to pay for the funerals and “family members abroad in Guyana do not have the finances to come and say their final goodbyes.”
The fire, which began about 2 p.m., ravaged the three-story house that neighbours said had four apartments, located in the attic, second floor, first floor and basement, where the Persaud family lived.
Two other houses were destroyed and five more were damaged by the inferno. High winds helped fuel the flames.
The cause is still under investigation, according to the FDNY.
