Venezuelan woman hurt in fall into sewer

A 35-year-old Venezuelan woman injured both legs when she fell into a sewer in Mayaro on Thursday afternoon.

Belisa Mazarelli had gone out of her the house in Mafeking, where she lives, when the area flooded after heavy rain.

“It was raining a lot, the apartment was filling with water and we had to run for fear,” she explained.

She could not see the sewer, which was also filled with water.

“I suffered bumps and scrapes on my legs. Thank God it wasn't something more serious, I'm fine,” she said.

Mazarelli lives in Mafeking with Henry Ramírez, 55, and Daniel Salazar, 59. They also had to leave the house.

"When we saw that the river overflowed towards the road we began to put our things on the tables to prevent damage," she explained.

The Venezuelans thanked their neighbours Ted Bailey and Jennet Becket for their help.

"They are good people, they allowed us to store some of our things in their homes and to sleep there while the water in our house goes away."

Other Venezuelans also suffered damage to their homes in this week's rain. In Penal, five Venezuelan families reported problems caused by flooding.