Elbow Beach Hotel has admitted it was warned of faults in a service road which collapsed and crushed a mother of one in a Bermuda College car park yesterday morning.

Students, teachers and emergency crews battled for over an hour in vain to save 34-year-old paraprofessional Andrea (Trott) Bicari pinned under the landslide.

However her family believe the death could have been prevented had officials at the Elbow Beach Hotel and the Bermuda College acted sooner.

Just hours after her sister's sudden death, Tunya Trott said the family was told unofficially that the hotel knew the road - which stood yards above the western visitors parking lot at Bermuda College - had several cracks.

She said, although it was believed a meeting had taken place at the Elbow Beach Hotel concerning the potential danger in the service road, nothing had been done.

"The family is angry and upset about this," said Ms Trott.

Elbow Beach's director of communications Kendaree Burgess-Fairn confirmed that a meeting was held yesterday morning to discuss the faulty road.

"Late yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon a concern was raised regarding cracks which had developed in the service road," she said.

"Engineering staff met first thing this morning (Wednesday), but unfortunately today's tragic events overtook us."

However, when asked whether the hotel had conveyed their findings to the College, she said: "That I don't know and cannot confirm."

Bermuda College president Dr. Michael Orenduff said he had not heard about the claims of the road cracking.

He said: "If there were any meetings held concerning the road, no one at the College was aware."

He said no mention was made of the road being considered dangerous.

"I have no knowledge of anything of that sort today," Dr. Orenduff said.

But that was no solace for the Trott family.

"It could have been avoided. They knew something was wrong," Ms Trott said.

And Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said: "I don't want to afix responsibility or liability but it does look as though the initial event may have occurred on Elbow Beach property but it is early days."

Mrs. Trott Bicari, a para-professional who taught children with behavioural problems at The Educational Centre, Devonshire was pronounced dead at the scene after the embankment supporting the Elbow Beach access road collapsed as she sat in her Rover after taking students to College for an exam.

One Bermuda College employee recalled hearing the embankment crashing to the ground crushing eight cars, and at least one bike.

He said: "Soon after the downpour this morning, the students who had just got out of the car were screaming for help and said their teacher was trapped under the debris.

"People started running to dig her out, but the sand was so wet, it was like cement. You could hardly move it," said the man, who declined to give his name.

"People were frantically trying to listen for any noises or cries for help.

"But there was nothing. You had big guys trying to remove the boulders from her car. That's what crushed her, the boulders."

Administrative assistant Karla Parfitt said after she heard a loud bang, the library shook.

"It felt like an earthquake had struck," she said. "I don't know why, but we ran up the steps to the road and there were a handful of people up there.

"Students were screaming, 'Somebody's in a car. Don't just stand there, help!'" Ms Parfitt told The Royal Gazette.

"I feel awful and am in shock," she said.

College president Dr. Michael Orenduff raced to the scene after hearing the noise to see the retaining wall and hill covering the cars with rubble and earth.

"One person said she thought there was a person in one of the cars.

"We concentrated on trying to dig that car out by hand. Police and the fire brigade arrived very promptly and joined in the effort to recover this one particular car.

"There were enough people around to try to look in all the cars, yelling out and listening."

After establishing only one car was likely to have a passenger, everyone worked very frantically to recover the car said Dr. Oredenduff.

Students and staff were soon joined by emergency crews who also faced a desperate battle.

Police sent 25 officers while fire crews sent 12 trucks and 29 officers after being called at 10.06 a.m.

The Bermuda Regiment sent nine officers to assist in crowd control as hundreds gathered to witness the unfolding tragedy.

Students were taken from the area and tarpaulin put up to shield spectators from the gruesome scene.

The Fire department's Lieutenant Dana Lovell said: "During the initial stages we found the going to be extremely difficult due to the amount of debris.

"It was a surreal experience to see these cars crushed down to four to eight inches, tremendous damage."

"We concentrated on the vehicle we couldn't identify at that time. We went to work using shovels, hoes and picks until the heavy machinery arrived."

A bobcat digger from East End Ashphalt and two large diggers from BET and Island Construction arrived and worked together to clear the earth.

As the drama unfolded The Royal Gazette spoke to Police officer Stephanie Thompson, 26, who had just parked her car and was walking to class when the wall collapsed.

"I was only about 20 yards away. I feel blessed but I am shocked and I am more concerned that there is someone still in the car."

She she had heard a noise as she parked her car at 10 a.m.

"I heard something sound like a coconut fall from a tree. I parked and locked my car and looked up and the wall was fine.

"I walked away and the wall just fell. The sound was probably the first sign the wall was going but I didn't pay much attention."

She said: "The wall was mostly limestone with a small border concrete wall around the bottom. That's all.

"I just think we are not prepared to deal with these types of things."

College spokesperson Evelyn James Barnett: "It's tragic. We are just waiting and praying for the best."

One man told The Royal Gazette a good friend of his had been killed in the same area when he was crushed by reinforcements rods.

An hour after the freak accident the car was free enough from rubble for rescue workers to realise all their efforts had been in vain.

Dejected firemen carried on under a grey morning drizzle with the grim task of recovering the body from the landslide, which was 20-25 feet high and about 100 feet in length.

Gina Spence-Farmer and others stood sombre as the events unfolded.

"As I stand here looking, I feel so helpless. This is the same shock I felt on September 11."

Mrs. Spence-Farmer said when Mrs. Bicari's students saw what happened, they became hysterical.

Some Mrs. Bicari's students were so distraught they refused to leave the area said one witness and had to be taken from the scene.

Others spoke of their lucky escapes. "I was going to park in that lot this morning," said one woman who was set to begin a workshop on the college campus.

"But being lazy, I decided to park closer. Thank God."

Counsellors were pulled in from schools across the Island and the Ministry headquarters and by 12.30 p.m., the Bermuda College flag was lowered to half-mast.

In the immediate aftermath Education Minister Paula Cox said: "Counselling for students was taking place even this morning."

She said: "Students were deeply, deeply affected.

"There was crying and screaming. Some were angry, why did it happen? It's a nightmare.

"They said 'she's my girl'. Which in their parlance is how highly they thought of her."

"CedarBridge called offering more help but by then we probably had more counsellors than students."

She said the Ministry would continue to support the college.

She paid tribute to Mrs. Bicari. Ms Cox said: "It tells you a lot about the character of that person is they went back, so I understand, to help out a student."

Education Permanent Secretary Michelle Khaldun said: "They are with counsellors, parents have been called and some have gone home with their parents. Some are still there with the counsellors."

Counselling will carry on said Ms Khaldun and a full plan worked out. The College has been closed for both staff and students for the rest of the week to allow Police to continue the investigation. Police have urged the public to also keep away.

They are appealing for witnesses to call Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Crockwell or Pc Romeo.

DCI Crockwell said: "We will be doing a very extensive investigation into this very serious matter.

Emergency crews, politicians, representatives from Elbow beach and countless other expressed their grief at the events.

Premier Jennifer Smith, who is at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland echoed many who said their thoughts were with the family.