AMBER Richards,12, was killed on Friday when the house she was spending the August holidays at with her eight-year-old brother collapsed, crushing her as she was swaying in a hammock.

Commander of ‘C’ Division, Calvin Brutus, told the Guyana Chronicle that the young lady was swaying in the hammock under the La Bonne Int

ention (LBI), East Coast Demerara (ECD) structure supported by four by four stilts, when it gave way.

At the time of the incident, the young lady was playing on her tablet while her brother,Joshua Richards,was nearby.

Joshua Richards was partially pinned by the fallen house but with the help of residents he was pulled to safety. He suffered injuries to his left foot and was taken to a city hospital where he was admitted.

Up to press time, his condition was said to be stable.

Aunt of the children, Wanita Ramgolam, told the Guyana Chronicle that around 15:00hrs, she was getting dressed when she felt the house was swaying.

Shortly after it collapsed, but not before she managed to put on an outfit and flee the building just before it fell.

But her niece, Amber and her nephew, Joshua, who came to her home on Sunday to spend the August holidays, were under the cottage in separate hammocks and were not so lucky.

Ramgolam explained that she knew the children were under the house and tried to alert them to run but it was too late.

The visibly distraught woman related that she heard her niece calling out for “aunty” aloud before her voice grew weak and eventually faded.

Ramgolam blamed herself for the incident, stating that the children should have never visited her home as she clutched her four-year-old daughter who escaped unhurt.

After the structure fell, she began to scream for help and neighbours came and managed to pull Joshua, who was partly trapped under the building to safety, but his sister took some time to be located.

By the time she was found, she was already dead. Her body bore severe injuries to the head and face.

Amber’s parents who recently relocated to Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD), were notified of the tragedy but had not yet arrived on the scene when Guyana Chronicle visited.

Crying loudly, Ramgolam said, “Only the other night the children were telling me that they cannot live without each other.”

Amber was described as a happy and quiet but reserved girl.

Her grandmother upon seeing what happened collapsed at the scene and had to be revived by neighbours.