Two teenagers were lucky to escape with minor injuries after a portion of their Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo home collapsed with them inside on Saturday.
Nicoloi Reddy, 14, told Stabroek News that he and his sister, Fanilla, 16, were at their 898 Tuschen New Housing Scheme home at around 11:30 on Saturday when they heard the glass windows breaking. Nicoloi said that he was in the bathroom washing and his sister was cleaning a room- both in the portion of the concrete home that collapsed. “The louvres start breaking up and the walls start open,” the teen recalled. “I call for she and we start run,” he said.
Nicoloi said that they were forced to jump from the cracking portion onto the portion that was still standing. However, they could not open the door and as the back half of the building collapsed, they fled to the front and jumped off the verandah of the upper flat.
In the process, Fanilla sprained her ankle.
The bathroom and kitchen were ruined and items such as the fridge, stove, a wall divider, cupboards, utensils, the water tank and other belongings were either damaged or destroyed. Five persons lived in the home where they had moved in several years ago.
A relative said that on Saturday, the ground was flooded following heavy rains and this and the heavy winds may have contributed to the collapse of the home.
The Reddys are currently staying at the home of another relative even as they ponder their future. The home is now uninhabitable. Their mother, Sharon is a nurse while their father is a fisherman.
