Blaze guts Turtle Bay house |27 January 2005

The blaze is believed to have started at around 3.00 a.m. and, by the time the fire brigade arrived on the scene shortly after 3.30, it had already taken hold of the building.

After a ten-minute fire fight the nine officers who attended the blaze had brought it under control, but not before the house contents had been destroyed, the roof collapsed and the structure reduced to a smouldering shell.

Speaking at Turtle Bay later in the morning Superintendent France Lablache said that the fire service had received the emergency call from the police at 3.29 and were on the scene soon after.
He said the cause of the fire was not yet determined.

Unoccupied at the time of the blaze, the 20-year-old house is owned by Erica Laporte, a chartered accountant who is currently in the UK and expected to return to Seychelles this weekend.
Her mother, who lives next door, was among those who put in a 999 call when the fire was spotted.

She said that she had heard a noise at around 3.00 in the morning and that the police were called shortly after.
She added that she had already telephoned her daughter who was, "upset."

Neighbour Manoj Chayda also reported hearing breaking glass in the early hours of the morning and called the emergency services before grabbing his camera and rushing to the scene where a number of other Turtle Bay residents had already gathered.

A lawned garden area surrounding the property likely helped prevent the blaze from spreading to neighbouring homes in the residential area.