FIVE couples in Couva were left homeless, two days before the Christmas festivities, after fire destroyed an apartment complex on Saturday night.

Shaheed Mohammed, owner of the building at Main Road, Preysal, said the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

He said losses have been estimated at $250,000.

“We are appealing for help for these families because they have nowhere to go after what has happened,” he said.

Fazal Ali, one of the tenants, claimed: “The fire may have started because of the carelessness of someone who left an electric iron on.”

Ali said he had nowhere to go and did not know what would happen to him for the holidays.

“I staying by the road today, I have nowhere to live, I have nobody to go by,” he said.

“What will we do...I have lost everything in the fire, all the appliances, the groceries I brought for the holidays are burnt...Everything I have was in that apartment, it is lost.”

In a separate incident, a La Romaine woman was left homeless after fire also destroyed her house on Saturday.

Police said around 3 pm on Saturday, Rosanna Bowlah, 57, of Betsy Street, La Romaine, left home to visit relatives.

She returned around 5 am yesterday and saw her wooden home completely destroyed.

Bowlah told police that her home was valued at $50,000.

PC Morales of the San Fernando Police Station is continuing investigations.

—Reporting by Adrian Boodan and Radhica Sookraj