BELIZE CITY, Mon. Dec. 18, 2017– In the aftermath of an explosion that claimed the life of Canadian national, Ronald Sutherland, 71, the Belize Police Department and other governmental agencies continue to investigate what went wrong, and who is to be held accountable.
On Friday, KREM News confirmed that a fine will be imposed for illegal mining, an offence under the Mines and Minerals Act Chapter 226 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000-2003.
The fine will be imposed on the Belize Roadway Construction Company, which is owned by the Banman Brothers. They had contracted Tiger Aggregates Limited, owned by the deceased, which had dynamited the side of a white marl hill in the Santa Cruz area of Santa Elena on Tuesday evening.
It was Belize Roadway Construction Company which was to apply for the mining permit or license to blast the Santa Cruz quarry, not Tiger Aggregates.
Sharon Ramclam, the CEO in the Ministry of Natural Resources, told KREM NEWS that her Ministry would have never approved a license or permit for that area where the blast was conducted, given that it was in a residential area.
Last Wednesday, officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources were on the ground conducting an investigation into the blast. The results of that investigation will be forwarded to the police, who are simultaneously conducting their own investigation.
However, it is the Ministry of Natural Resources that will impose the $5,000 fine against Belize Roadway Construction.
While residents attempt to return to normalcy following the blast that destroyed/damaged their homes, there is a silver lining. That is because the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) has announced that Government will provide affected families with immediate relief supplies.
The assistance will be coordinated with the Cayo Central area representative, Honorable Rene Montero, and San Ignacio mayor Earl Trapp, Jr.
KREM NEWS has reported that mattresses, stoves, butane tanks and food and other supplies have been distributed to some 20 affected families already.
According to Belize Roadway Construction, 8 vehicles were damaged, 14 houses were significantly damaged, and 20 houses had minor damage.
This morning, at a police press conference, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Joseph Myvette, who heads the National Crimes Investigation Branch, revealed that the Commissioner of Police does issue a blaster’s license, but claimed that the area where the blasting occurred has nothing to do with the Belize Police Department. He further revealed that during the blast, police were on the scene.