One Seriously Injured, As Grieving Survivors Explain How The Tragedy Happened
PHOTO: At the scene of the tragedy Friday morning
By Garmah Never Lomo and Charles Gbayor
In the Early Morning Hours of Friday morning (June 26 2020) amidst torrential rains, a tragic incident happened, when a cement wall/fence collapsed on 18th Street in the Sinkor suburb of Monrovia.
It was around 3 Am GMT while residents of this Community were in deep sleep.
The five killed included three females and two males including a child, who met their untimely deaths, one person seriously wounded with a number of others made homeless. The wounded victim is currently being treated at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital nearby.
Reporters of www.newspublictrust.com , who visited the scene of the disaster Friday morning were told by some grief-stricken residents and survivors of the tragedy that that flood waters seriously eroded the base of the wall led to its collapse, as the fence apparently wasn’t built with reinforced concrete.
After the wall collapsed, houses of several residents got flooded.
When our Reporters arrived, they saw residents putting out their household material and other belongings from their waterlogged houses to get dry as the Friday sunshine emerged.
Lincoln B. Kollie, a resident of the 18th Street Community and victim of the disaster said cannot come to grips with the scale of the tragedy that took them by surprise in the middle of the night.
“My family and I was at sleep when I heard the heavy sound of something falling on the other house and when I came out to find out my House way was filled with water and I couldn’t even get out easily,” he told www.newspublictrust.com.
“I’m appealing to the Liberian Government and International Community or Humanitrain Organizations to come to my aid and relocate my family and I because I can’t live in this Community no longer.”
Mr. Kollie discolsed that three of the five persons killed were his closed relatives “and they are no more”.
Another Community Dweller, Madam Etter Young said, “I want those responsible for this ungodly act to come and take full responsibility of burying the dead and relocating those whose houses damaged or need renovation.”
“This should serve as a caveat to those responsible for this act or else we will take the streets of Monrovia to Protest against them,” said Madam Young.
“Since 3Am this morning, I have been working cleaning my house and other areas in the Community were bricks from the fence fell,” she added.
“Even the water and mud that enters our houses are too much almost everything thing I have got destroyed by the heavy water so base on this I’m also appealing to our Government for help,” Madam Young explained.
Government officials visit the scene of the tragedy
After the incident occurred on Friday morning, Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Koijee said the incident was tragic and he’s in sympathy with the berived Families over their lost.
Mayor Koijee told a team of Journalists that a Permanent intervention is needed to relocate Some Residents and even help the bereaved families to bury the dead.
“The situation is very saddened to admit and this Government will timely intervene,” said Mayor Koijee.
For his Part, the Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency
Honorable Henry O. Williams said the President George Weah and the Liberian government is concerned about their situation and others affected by disasters.
I want to firstly extend my Deepest condolences to those who lost the family and Loved ones for the Liberian Government and we are working on plans to intervene.
“We from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) responsible for Disaster Management are very sorry for the incident and I want to inform our citizens to be wise in carrying out construction of structures to avoid building on water way or slum Communities,” Mr. Williams said.
He told that journalists that his Agency is still investigating the causes of the collapse and I will intervene soon.
“As I’m leaving from here I will immediately contact our partners for consultations and we will intervene,” the NDMA boss said.
Mr. Williams described the situation as “very serious because we are in the Coronavris pandemic period in Liberia and the government is putting Mechanisms to help.”