MAY PEN, Clarendon – The Clarendon Parish Council will seek to determine what caused the recent structural collapse to the Shoppers Fair Supermarket in the parish capital, Mayor Scean Barnswell has confirmed.

The supermarket, located on Sevens Road, suffered damage to sections of its roof on the evening of Friday, October 12, just 15 weeks after moving into the refurbished facility from its previous location at Bargain Village on Main Street.

While there were reports that a lightning bolt accompanied by heavy rains which lashed the parish that afternoon triggered the collapse, there has been no official word from the supermarket’s management.

“Sir, there’s no one here to talk to you today,” a security guard manning the facility’s main gate, told the Jamaica Observer Central on Thursday.

But Barnswell said the parish council will be seeking answers from the supermarket.

“The parish council will be writing them … because we have an interest. We need to know what caused the collapse,” Barnswell said.

“We thought it was just a section of the roof that gave way, but when we went inside we realised that it was a significant portion of it, so we also looked on the structure itself to see if there was any breach. We will be asking them (the operators) to submit drawings to us to see if there has been any modification to the plan that we had approved,” the mayor told the Observer in an earlier interview.

Barnswell also confirmed that the supermarket has removed the perishable items from the building, which for two weeks left a foul odour in the parish’s main business district.

The mayor was unable to say when or if the building, which is currently being supported by braces, will be repaired.

“They have removed all the perishable items and are now basically removing the non-perishable things to a safe location. However, at the moment, we are not exactly sure if they plan to renovate or tear down the building or build it back,” he said.

Unconfirmed reports say some employees who were affected by the supermarket’s closure, were offered the option of temporary employment at other Shoppers Fair locations across the island while the May Pen branch is being refurbished.