None hurt as falling trees take out church out-building |24 January 2013

It is unclear when exactly the three trees fell on the church, but sources told Seychelles Nation that at around 11pm on Tuesday night, a loud crashing noise was heard in the area where the church is based.

The church’s pastor Eddy Payet told Nation he received a call at around 7am yesterday morning, that falling trees had damaged the church.

“When we got to the scene, there were many, many branches and pieces of wood scattered all over the place as well as a number of fruit bats, who had come crashing down with the trees!” said Pastor Payet.

“We set the bats free and then made some calls for help, and officials from the department of environment were kind enough to deploy some people to help us with the clearing of the trees.”

Mr Payet said the out-building is used for various purposes, such as for leisure gatherings, helping people who need help with detoxification, meetings, as well as funeral exposures.

Work was still ongoing well after sunset yesterday, with some people still clearing the branches and others working to repair the damaged building.

“We thank Mr Raymond Brioche and his team from the department of environment, and all those who have helped us, despite the ongoing heavy rain,” said Mr Payet.