Home is where the heart is, and so is your worst nightmare. The world came literally crashing down on this elderly couple, who narrowly escaped with their lives when the ceiling of their house collapsed, tumbling along with slabs of brick and concrete.
69-year-old Gerbian Lye and his wife had been lazing around in their two-storey house in Geylang last Thursday when all hell broke loose, The New Paper reports. They were chilling in their upstairs bedroom but grew worried about strange clicking sounds emanating from their ceiling — initially thought to be just resonation from a construction project next door.
They decided to leave their room when dust started falling from the ceiling. Just as Lye was rolling out of his bed, their ceiling crumbled upon them, with a large slab of brick and concrete landing right where he was just moments before. The couple managed to get out of the house just in time, while Lye’s arm was grazed by the debris.
Two of the rooms on the second storey of their home were left in ruins when bricks and concrete fell through the ceiling.
What had actually happened was a portion of a brick wall gave way when concreting works next door were being carried out, when the third storey of a condominium was being constructed.Thus why wet concrete and brick pieces fell through the second-storey plasterboard ceiling and into Lye’s bedrooms.
The Building and Construction Authority has since revoked the permits for the constructions works. The construction company has since paid Lye a sum of money and promised to fix his ceiling, flooring, partition and wiring.
However so, the elderly man is still upset that his belongings of sentimental value — including paintings, original wedding photos and family portraits — have been ruined. The incident has also left both him and his wife severely traumatised; both have been pretty paranoid about the sky falling down on them again.
Photo: John Ramspott via Flickr
