The collapsed house.

Fortunately, the lone occupant, Annkumarie Singh, 62, of Lot 89, was not inside as she had, minutes before, left to visit relatives a short distance away.

The building fell about 09:30 hours after neighbours observed sparks from a Guyana Power & Light (GPL) utility pole.

Twenty-nine-year-old Bramhand , (only name given) said he and some friends were under his house, which is next door , when they heard the crash.

He told the Guyana Chronicle, he rushed out and observed the electricity wire sparking in a pool of water.

Bramhand said, he telephoned Singh’s relatives and her children hurried to the scene and began a frantic search for her.

Shaken Annkumarie Singh

Upon her arrival, a trembling Singh sat on a nearby verandah and gazed at the destruction.

The Police, visited the site about two hours later and GPL workmen , took some four and a half hours to disconnect the current, from the fallen structure.

Singh, who will be staying with her daughter at Non Pariel, also on East Coast Demerara, was too distraught to speak to this newspaper. (MICHEL OUTRIDGE)