TWO PEOPLE LEFT DEAD AS BUILDING COLLAPSES IN ANAMBRA

Two bodies were pulled out of the debris of a building which collapsed in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Thursday. Five other people were brought out alive with varying degrees of injuries from the rubble of the two-storey building which was under construction at the time of its collapse. The victims were mainly workers, who were working on the decking of the second floor when the building collapsed, trapping no fewer than 12 of them.

The timely arrival of men and equipment of the Consolidated Construction Company Limited, who were later joined by officials of the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Boys Brigade and the men of the state Fire Service aided the rescue operation.

A survivor, Mr. Austin Amoah, who had serious leg injuries, said 15 workers were on site before the collapse. Another survivor, Mr. Sunday Oko, also recalled his miraculous survival. Another survivor identified as Solomon from Edo State was brought out alive with minor injuries. The director of the state emergency management agency, Dr. Justin Ijezie, confirmed the incident.

He said, “I was just coming from my office in CCC to enter my car and I heard a huge sound; it was a bang. We were the first set of people that came for rescue and there was hardly nothing we could do so we had to seek help from our management.

“The few people that we were able to rescue so far were through the assistance of the management of our company, CCC, and the FRSC.”

The Police Public Relations officer in the state, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, said he wept at the scene of the incident. “This is because I discovered that the materials being used are substandard. Everything about the building is substandard. It is high time government began to look into the building designs and capacity of projects. The materials are substandard and must have led to the collapse of the building.”

The Special Adviser to Governor Peter Obi on Housing and Urban Development, Mr. LawrenceChinwuba, told reporters that efforts to reach the Chief Executive of Lento Aluminum, who was alleged to be constructing the house, proved abortive as his phone indicated it was switched off. He said though the cause of the collapse had not been confirmed, the materials used for the building were of very poor quality.