Chaos as apartment staircase collapses

Believing that her two-year-old daughter was possibly in danger, in an act of desperation Shanice Dixon threw her child from the second floor of their building into the arms of a waiting neighbour below.

"Mi inna di house and just hear 'budum,' so mi think seh [the building] a come down. And all mi could a duh was throw di baby because mi seh even if mi dead, she nah dead," Dixon told THE STAR, her voice filled with emotion. The incident occurred about 2 p.m. yesterday at an apartment building in Torrington Park, St Andrew, when the staircase connecting the second and first floors collapsed. Althia Mackintosh, 59, the grandmother of Dixon's daughter, was injured, and the collapse left several residents stranded on the upper floors of the four-storey building.

Now, frustrated residents are pleading for urgent intervention, claiming that the building has been in a state of disrepair for years with no meaningful action taken to address it.

"A long time this a gwan and we need it fi deal wid it," said Mel, who has been living in the building for 36 years.

"When mi hear wah happen to Althia mi start cry, 'cause it could a happen to anyone a wi. A whole heap pickney live yah and dem eva a run up and dung pan di step. It could a happen to dem!" a frustrated Mel said, adding that they had meeting with National Housing Trust to address the issue but nothing has been done.

"From last year September we have a community meeting with the housing people dem and dem seh dem a guh start the work the November and all now the work nuh start... . Suh mi wah know if a wait dem a wait pan smaddi fi dead before dem come fix up di place," she said.

When THE STAR visited the location, residents eagerly guided the news team through the premises, pointing out multiple structural issues including cracked walls and damaged railings. Exposed steel was visible from where concrete had eroded throughout the building.

Opposition Leader and Member of Parliament for South St Andrew, Mark Golding, was also on the scene and expressed frustration at the incident. He told THE STAR that he was "upset" to learn what had happened to Mackintosh, someone he knows well, emphasising that the incident was entirely preventable.

"This is a long-standing issue. Engineers have come here, done assessments, but, for whatever reason, they haven't done the work," he said. "This could have been avoided had the process just been implemented expeditiously as it should have because they've known it's urgent."

Golding further disclosed that over the past four years, he has repeatedly written to the relevant authorities, urging action to address the building's deteriorating condition. However, he stressed that immediate intervention is now critical to ensure the safety of residents.

"Some engineering solution has to be implemented quickly, to make the building safe and accessible," he said, adding that of the 48 apartments, 16 are no longer accessible because of the collapsed staircase.