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Elderly woman cheats death as house collapses
Eighty-year-old Elaine Chu could be considered as having cheated death yesterday afternoon. The octogenarian was the only person in a Lamaha Street double-flat house which collapsed with her residing on the lower flat.
The Lamaha Street house that Elaine Chu once occupied.
This occurred around 3pm.
Chu had been occupying the wooden structure for more than 12 years with her son and daughter in law who live on the upper flat. She and her grandson live on the lower flat.
The elderly woman told Kaieteur News that she had just finished taking her pressure medication and was sitting at the front of the house when it collapsed.
She recounted that her daughter came over to visit her and said that she heard a strange noise coming from the house, but Chu said that she “didn’t take it for anything” since cats usually run about the premises making lots of noise.
The daughter who was in the yard at the time said that she had come out of the house to investigate where the noise was coming from leaving her mother in the building, but within minutes the structure collapsed.
Chu told this publication that she can’t recall if she tried to jump out of the way of collapsing wood, but she fell on her belly and some rice that was being cooked fell on her foot, but it was “nothing major”.
Upon hearing the crashing sound, neighbours and public-spirited persons rushed to the elderly woman’s aid and pulled her from the rubble. Chu said that she is not quite mobile and is unable to move at a fast pace, which made it very difficult for her.
According to the elderly woman she is not sure what her next move is since just a few of her belongings are still good enough to be used again.
The owners of the property are overseas-based and were preparing to renovate the premises since it was in dire need of repairs. Chu’s son was reportedly strengthening the main columns of the house, but this proved not to be enough.
The other occupants of the premises were not present. Chu was unable to give an estimate of her losses.
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