One dead in Guadeloupe distillery explosion
A boiler explosion at Guadeloupe’s Montebello Distillery killed one person last week in what was described as the French Caribbean island’s largest industrial accident in more than three decades.
The ‘extremely violent’ explosion resulted in the death of a distillery worker in his 50s, who had worked at the site for a year and a half, according to Samuel Cerol, the plant’s general manager.
Two people suffered critical injuries, which included severe burns and fractures, while two others experienced lesser injuries.
One person is said to have gone into cardiac arrest due to the incident, but was successfully revived.
“Shocked” but “unharmed” by the event, 12 others were in the vicinity of the blast, which occurred on Friday morning at around 8.30am local time at the Montebello rum distillery.
Around 20 firefighters were mobilised to the scene. The boiler explosion did not involve a fire; however, the factory roof was torn off, and the structure sustained severe damage. Other reported damages included sugarcane stalk residue being scattered into the air, concrete blocks being thrown into the neighbourhood, and nearby car windows being shattered by the blast.
The incident is now reportedly under investigation, which includes identifying the circumstances that led to the explosion.
The Pointe-à-Pitre prosecutor’s office has also pressed charges of manslaughter and involuntary injury in the workplace.
Official representative of the French national government in Guadeloupe, prefect Thierry Devimeux, told the press: “We are at the beginning of the story. First, there will be a time for reflection, followed by a judicial and administrative investigation to determine responsibilities.”
Montebello in Petit-Bourg – approximately 45 km from the Guadeloupean capital Basse-Terre – claims to be one of the island’s oldest rum distilleries, founded in 1930.
The explosion has halted all operations at the distillery, which produces rum under the same brand name. The incident affects 12 jobs.
Montebello is one of 19 distilleries operating in Guadeloupe.
Biggest incident to date
According to Jean-Yves Saussol, the director of De La DEAL (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing) in Guadeloupe, the explosion is the island’s largest industrial accident since 1992, when the agency began recording such incidents.
The DEAL will be involved in the investigation to determine if human error or faulty equipment led to the explosion. It also aims to determine whether local environmental compliance, protection regulations, and risk assessments were followed leading up to the incident.
Saussol added that the facility has been inspected “several times” since it was authorised by DEAL in 2004, and the agency “had not been aware of any particular risk with the boiler”.
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