Rains cause killer landslidesNALINEE SEELAL Wednesday, July 12 2006
Tree crushes mom, baby, aunt
A 20-YEAR-OLD woman who survived a freak accident in which a massive tree crushed her sisters and ten-month-old nephew to death on Monday night, clutched the hands of relatives from her hospital bed yesterday, begging them to tell her it was just a nightmare.
Hema Narinesingh and her brother Sunil managed to escape death when a massive tree on the hill at the side of the North Coast Road in Maracas, was uprooted in a landslide and came crashing down on the family car.
Hema and Sunil were sitting in the front passenger and driver’s seats. Their siblings Vidya, 26, and Reena, 24, and ten-month-old nephew Christian — who were in the back of the car — died instantly.
Police blamed heavy, incessant rainfall for the landslide which weakened the hillside and caused the huge tree to be uprooted. Officers also said there were other landslides along the North Coast Road.
Recalling the harrowing experience, Hema who sustained internal injuries said everyone in the car was talking and laughing while at the same time lamenting how slippery the road was due to the inclement weather.
Narinesingh said she had telephoned her boyfriend Amos, telling him she was afraid of the strong winds which buffeted the car as it made its way along the winding mountain road.
She told Newsday she remembered hearing a loud crash and seeing a dark shadow cover the car.
Speaking in a soft, laboured tone, Narinesingh said within minutes people appeared “out of nowhere” and tried to free them from the car.
She said everything went blank and when she awoke, she was lying on a bed at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
Early yesterday, she was told the news of the deaths of her two sisters and nephew. “Everytime I close my eyes, the entire tragedy keeps replaying in my mind. I am not sure if I can come to terms with the deaths,” Narinesingh told Newsday.
Her brother Sunil who was resting nearby was too distraught to speak saying only that he was able to move his neck, hands and feet.
Police reports revealed that at about 6.30 pm, Sunil, 34, was driving his car north along North Coast Road when on reaching the Maracas Bay lookout, a tree at the side of the hill came crashing down on the car after it was uprooted following heavy rainfall.
A passer-by who witnessed the accident contacted the Maracas Bay Police, the Emergency Health Services and fire officers.
Firemen used a hydraulic cutting tool called the “jaws of life” to cut through the mangled wreck of the car to get to the occupants. When the firemen reached the cabin of the car, they found Vidya, Reena and Christian, already dead.
Hema and Sunil were taken to hospital.
Sunil is resting at Ward 24 while Hema is in Ward 14. Both are said to be in stable condition.
When Newsday visited the scene of the accident, the tree remained at the side of the roadway.
A crew from the Ministry of Works and Transport was busy clearing the tree and debris from the road to allow the free flow of traffic.
The victims’ home was locked up yesterday and neighbours who spoke to Newsday described the Narinesingh’s as a quiet, law-abiding family. They added it was customary for Sunil to drop his sisters home from work every afternoon.
At the Port-of-Spain Mortuary, relatives who came to identify the bodies, broke down in tears and were inconsolable. Investigations are continuing.
