Mother, 6-year-old daughter crushed to death after house collapses

The small village of Bonasika on the Essequibo River was plunged into mourning after a mother and her six-year-old daughter were killed when their home collapsed on Wednesday.

Dead are 35-year-old Seematie Chandra, called ‘Nanda’, a farmer, and her 6-year-old daughter Christine Sookdeo, called “Pretty”.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 16:00h as the woman and her daughter were under the house attending to their puppies.
Police have confirmed that the woman and her daughter met their demise after they were pinned by the beams of the dilapidated house after it collapsed.
Based on reports received, the now dead woman and her daughter resided at the said address with two other children and her 45-year-old husband Tulsieram Sookdeo, who is also a farmer.
According to the grieving husband, he left home at about 15:50h to burn bushes on another plot of land, leaving his wife and children at home.
Shortly after, he received information from a neighbour that his house had collapsed and that his wife and daughter, who were under the house feeding the puppies, were pinned under the beams of the house.
Without hesitation, he hurried home and found his wife and daughter pinned beneath the collapsed house.
With assistance from villagers, the injured duo were removed and transported via boat to Parika Hubu Stelling, thence to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where doctors confirmed them dead.
Blood was seen coming from the mouth and nose of both mother and daughter. Their bodies were then transported to the Ezekiel Funeral Home to await a post mortem.
A few years ago, 12-year-old Amber Richards of Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD) was crushed to death after a single-storey wooden house came crashing down at La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara (ECD).
The child was at the time vacationing at her aunt’s home while on break from school, along with her 9-year-old brother who was also trapped in the ruins of the house.
On the fateful day, the siblings were rocking in a hammock tied under the wooden building when the house came crashing down. The hammock was said to be attached to the main beams on which the building was supported, approximately seven feet off the ground. The house was said to be standing for some 30 years, and was set to undergo renovations.