No Link Between Hotel Incident and CWC

Minister Says No Link Between Hotel Incident and CWC

PORT OF SPAIN, Mar. 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Following an incident at the Trinidad Hilton on Wednesday, March 7, in which guests and staff at the hotel were affected by what appeared to be teargas, the Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago Mr. Martin Joseph, stressed that the country's emergency services and law enforcement and security agencies had the situation well under control.

The Minister said in a news conference Wednesday that forensic personnel were examining the area in which a discharged teargas canister was found shortly after 8:00 a.m. The Minister said: "Investigations are being undertaken to determine whether there was a link with the industrial action which is taking place at the hotel."

He did not believe the incident had any connection with the Cricket World Cup 2007. The hotel houses a number of teams, officials and foreign media in the country for warm-up matches ahead of the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, which begins on March 11 in Jamaica. Acting Commissioner of Police Glen Roach told the news conference in Port of Spain that at around 8:15 a.m. the fire department responded to a report of a fire at the hotel. They arrived on the scene at 8:19 a.m.

Smoke was observed emanating from the 8th floor of the hotel. "A device was found which at the time was emitting smoke and which had all the appearances of a teargas (canister)," Mr. Roach said. Hotel security personnel quickly evacuated all hotel guests, including cricketers and team officials from Pakistan and South Africa. None of the players were affected by the fumes. Players and officials from Canada and Ireland are also housed at the hotel but were not present at the time of the incident.

"As far as we are aware, no players and no officials connected to Cricket World Cup received any injury or any discomfort," Roach said. Five foreign guests and several hotel employees were however treated on site for eye, nose and skin irritations, while eight people were treated and discharged from the Port of Spain General Hospital.

One person was kept for observation at the hospital with a high blood pressure problem. Roach announced that security at the hotel had since been stepped up and that the safety and security of the teams and the visitors to the country are very important to the Police Service of Trinidad and Tobago.

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