It was a tragic Sunday, yesterday, in Anambra, as a five-storey building under construction collapsed at the Basden Street, Fegge area in the commercial city of Onitsha.
There were fears that many were trapped in the rubble as the building, meant to serve commercial purposes on completion, collapsed in the early hours of yesterday while some of the construction workers were on the last floor.
An excavator was moved to the site while evacuation of rubbles and possible rescue operations of any trapped victims had commenced at the time of filing this report.
Though the possible reason for the collapse had not been ascertained at the time of this report, a source within the area said one person had been rescued as rescue operations continued at the site.
When contacted, the state police Spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the report, but said their men were already on ground to coordinate the rescue operation. He, however, declined comment on the number of casualties, saying the rescue operation, when completed, would answer that.
“Immediately the incident was reported, the DPO in charge of the area quickly cordoned off the place and our DCP Ops is already on ground to coordinate the rescue operation which is ongoing. The number of casualties or fatalities, if any, can’t be discussed now until the rescue operation is completed,” Ikenga stated.
A market structure under construction also collapsed in Onitsha recently, where six people died and 25 others injured.
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