NEMO races to help victims of Cayo quarry explosion

What may have been a rough Christmas for twenty families who suddenly lost or suffered damages to their homes, thanks to the quarry explosion in the Santa Cruz section of Santa Elena Town on Tuesday evening, will be a little brighter thanks to the National Emergency Management Organization. NEMO personnel headed by district coordinator Al Westby, seconded by personnel from the Ministry of Human Development and elected officials area representative Rene Montero and mayor Earl Trapp are on the ground distributing emergency supplies such as mattresses, stoves, butane tanks and food supplies. The release notes that the actual reconstruction and repair of homes damaged by and lost to the explosion is being handled by Belize Roadway Construction Limited, which hired Tiger Aggregates Limited to mine the quarry for material to build roads. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated but it is believed to have had something to do with the quantity of explosives used. In related news, an explosive expert has informed the media that in addition to the general license granted by police, a permit is also necessary per explosion. The permit would take up to a week to obtain from the Commissioner of Police and must be presented to the Officer in Charge of the jurisdiction who then proceeds to clear the area on the strength of that document. Police, however, say that this license is no longer in their purview. Seventy-year-old Ronald Sutherland, owner of Tiger Aggregates was killed in the blast and five others, including two police officers on the scene, were injured.