Five persons sustained minor injuries yesterday morning after the condemned roof of the Stabroek Market wharf collapsed.
Vendors near the wharf told Stabroek News that they heard a loud cracking sound as the structure came down.
Rehanna Shaw, a fruit vendor related that around 10:30 am, she heard the terrific noise when the shed fell. She recalled that this was not the first time parts of the shed had fallen. She said that she had a stall on the wharf before the city council gave her a space in front of the fire service to vend. She hopes that the repairs can be done on the wharf as soon possible so she can resume vending there.
Another vendor, Karim Alli, a 65-year-old fruit vendor who has been selling at the market for over 13 years, said that it was five years since he has been selling on the road due to the dilapidated shed on the wharf because people are scared to go at the back to buy anything, adding, “The condition at the back is very terrible.” He disclosed that he still has to pay his stall rent since he has a stall at the back of Stabroek market but if he sells on the road, he doesn’t have to pay stall rent.
He relayed that he heard about the collapse of the shed while selling on the road and rushed in to see what happened. He too noted that over the last five years, the structure began to fall piece by piece until the City Council ordered persons not to enter. Alli said that if something could be done about the wharf at the back, he would be grateful because it would allow more customers to go at the back to purchase once they know it is safe.
Another fruit vendor, Nandaie Alfred who was selling at the back of Stabroek Market at the time the shed collapsed, relayed that around 10:30 am she was sitting at her stall when she heard a cracking noise on the wharf. When she looked, she saw that the shed had collapsed and people were trapped under the rubble. Her sister had some fruits on the wharf but couldn’t save it because the roof came down suddenly and crushed them. She pleading for something to be done as it is high time repairs were done to the wharf area.
According to a sign posted at the wharf, the area had been condemned some time ago by order of the City Engineer, Clerk of Markets, and Chief Constable, and vendors were not supposed to be in the vicinity. However, in violation of the posted order, they continued to conduct business in the area despite the safety risks.
Up to yesterday the area was cordoned off by officials. Reports are that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded to the incident at approximately 10.27 am with two ambulances, twenty firefighters, the chief emergency medical technician, along with four emergency medical technicians. Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters initiated search and rescue operations, while ensuring the safety of all affected individuals.
According to the GFS, five persons sustained injuries, with emergency medical technicians promptly providing onsite medical assistance. Two of the injured were transported to Georgetown Public Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
The government is providing support to the injured individuals, and in collaboration with a team including the GFS, is actively coordinating efforts to address the aftermath of the collapse.
A comprehensive plan of action was expected to be released yesterday, outlining the steps to be taken to mitigate the impact of this incident and ensure the safety and well-being of all concerned.
Standby
Up to yesterday, one ambulance and one fire tender remained on standby at the scene, in the event of any further emergencies. Additionally, the remaining unsafe structure will be demolished to prevent any further risk to public safety, while the removal of the rubble is underway.
Earlier yesterday, President Irfaan Ali, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag; Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar; and the Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore, along with other senior officials were on site to assess the situation firsthand and provide assurance to vendors and citizens affected by the incident.
During an engagement with reporters yesterday, President Ali opined that the M&CC should step forward in relation to such a major incident in the city.
“The council should really come forward on some key assets within the city… if we continue to have situations like these, where the maintenance of the infrastructure and the protection of the infrastructure is not addressed, then health and safety become a major issue.”
He added, “We’re discussing right now… the issue of key assets within the city that are not being maintained, that are left in a state that is dangerous to the city and we’ll have to decide how we address those key assets.”
He urged the mayor to work closely with the councillors. “…because from a leadership perspective too they [M&CC] are in no capacity to manage some of these key infrastructure and investment in the city.”
Indar said that while talking to persons in the area, apart from the vendors, it appeared that there were persons living on the wharf when the incident occurred. He added that he was told that when persons in the vicinity of the collapse heard the cracking noise, some of them jumped overboard.
Slipped
“…there were four persons that got injured. One guy slipped a shoulder and some had minor injuries and they were given medical attention. But there was a fifth person who emerged just now who had a little laceration to his neck and he gone to get medical treatment.
“So, on that side we still have to take out the rubble. I don’t know when we will take out the rubble, and what will be found there. But from what we heard from everybody… vending there… that there were five persons and all five persons are getting medical attention.”
He noted that Benn will be dealing with the rubble since the area has now been deemed a fire hazard, while he and Parag will be dealing with demolition.
Benn had told reporters that he heard of the incident on social media. He noted that the site was under the control of the City Council and several years ago the site was declared a disused site and persons were prevented from plying their trade on the wharf since there is a pending decision for repairs to the facility.
“This site as we know it, was and still is an accident waiting to happen. It is under the control, operation, and administration of the City Council, and I know that since several years ago, the site was a disused site. Persons were prevented from coming on to it, pending a decision by them [City Council] for repairs to the facility. That hasn’t happened as yet but it is obvious there has been a lack of control as to the use of the site and paying attention to the deterioration of the structure. So, the main structure has collapsed; you still have a couple of roofs remaining on that side [southern side], which are also in deplorable condition, which present a clear and present danger to people who would go under there.
Isolated
“So, what we asking (is) that the site be isolated; that we work with the city council and their constabulary to secure the site. We have asked that they [City Council] pay attention to removing their rubble or debris, the material that is out there and isolating it and making the site safe. The fire boat will be alongside. I hope the City Council will get a barge, so they can start removing the collapsed material and going forward, we have to make sure giving advice to them [City Council] on consultation, what steps they will take to make sure that the area is safe.”
Benn noted that it is the City Council’s responsibility to conduct a risk assessment of the other nearby structures.
Parag echoed that the operation of the wharf comes under the control of the M&CC.
“I was here… on a walkabout from the Ministry of Local Government … and I noted and expressed publicly the danger as people were traversing on that wharf at the time. I know that it was a wharf that was condemned because I heard that from several vendors that were here. But, people were still there [on the wharf] and people actually bought it to my attention because people were there. It was potentially dangerous… so today we saw the effects of that.”
Meanwhile, the mayor confirmed that notice was given to all vendors to desist from going on the wharf and it wasn’t done under the current council but a previous council.
“…from the discussion I have had with Minister Indar and other ministers, we will have a joint collaboration to fix this matter because at the end of the day, even though the city has responsibility to deal with this issue, it also straddles MARAD [Maritime Administration Department] … and so on… This is something we are working collectively to deal with. We, as minister Benn said, we did give notice to all the persons on the wharf to desist from being here. This is not something that we did in this current council but in previous council, two or three councils before to be able to deal with this. I think the previous government themselves suggested that they were looking at some kind of a boardwalk arrangement that should have already happened, but it is something we had to deal with, in general, to able to work and find solutions as a collective to be able to deal with this issue.
“This is not only a city council issue, this will also be a national issue as we all know, we have to be able to find a hand and glove arrangement to make this work. I have spoken to the engineer on this, and the minister on this matter and we are working from the river in, to be able to figure out how we can be able to deal with this matter. I think a barge will also be necessary as indicated, and we will be working to be able to find a solution and to be able to save lives and limbs and not have any further issues on this particular matter. It is necessary we do that and it is necessary that we collaborate from a central stand point and a local stand point to bring solution to this issue, moving forward.
Mentore acknowledged that the constabulary will have to take responsibility to ensure that other persons that are actually there or operating there, will have to move out. “That’s our responsibility and we will deal with that.”
He had confirmed on the sidelines that the City Council had made arrangements to move the vendors from the wharf around 2016-2017 and have them placed in Russell Square. The vendors, he said, were operating at their own risk when the roof collapsed.
