Ministry worker among two injured after Four Miles community centre stairway collapses

A legal assistant at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and an elderly man from the Port Kaituma area were yesterday morning air-dashed to Georgetown after they were injured when a stairway at the Four Miles community centre collapsed as they were using it to get to a meeting.     

Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, who was at Four Miles to conduct a consultation on a land demarcation exercise, narrowly escaped injury. 

The legal assistant, identified as Mirian Andrew, and the elderly man were taken to Port Kaituma District Hospital for assessment then flown to Georgetown.

According to reports out of Port Kaituma, it appeared as though Andrew might have fractured one of her legs. 

Minister in the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe yesterday confirmed to Stabroek News the reports coming out of Port Kaituma that the stairway of the community centre at Four Miles in the Matarkai (Matthew’s Ridge, Arakaka, Port Kaituma) sub-region gave way under the weight of some people who were going to attend the meeting.   

In spite of the accident, Garrido- Lowe said that Allicock and other members of the team that accompanied him were able to successfully conduct the meeting.