3 die as three-storey building collapses in Anambra

3 die as three-storey building collapses in Anambra

By Chinwe Nwacha, Onitsha

No fewer than three persons, that included a father and his two sons, were reportedly killed when a three-storey building in Egbu Umuenem, Otolo Nnewi community, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, collapsed in the wee hours of Sunday.

The building collapsed about 1a.m. as the deceased who were workers in the uncompleted building were getting ready to start plastering work on the structure.

Inside sources hinted that some other people who were also trapped in the rubbles were later rescued during a rescue operation and rushed to St. Felix Hospital, Nnewi.

“it was a thunderous noise when the building collapsed in the early hours of Sunday. A man and his two sons, who were also supposed to be part of those to work on the site died in the incident. They came from the Nimo community and were sleeping over so as to begin their work early in the morning before the incident happened,” eyewitness disclosed..

Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Anambra State chapter, led by its Chairman, Victor Meju and the Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Chris Obiora, stormed the scene.

Meju attributed the collapse to use of “poor foundation, poor concrete mixture, poor quality of materials, poor wearing cost capacity, nonconformity to standards, and non-approval from relevant regulatory authorities.

He however, announced the sealing-off of the site, adding that the owner of the building, Mr Chukwunafu Anamanjo, will be invited for questioning and an investigation will be carried out.

In his reaction, the Transition Committee Chairman, Nnewi North LGA, Chris Obiora,  called on people to always make use of certified engineers and other relevant personnel in the building sector for their construction works.

He added that monitoring teams are also important in ensuring that builders stick to stipulated standards.

The Sectoral Head of COREN in charge of Nnewi and environs, Arinze Okwuosa, said his team observed a lot of foul plays in the course of carrying out their job, calling for government intervention to forestall future occurrences.

The bodies of the dead victims have been deposited at a morgue in Nnewi.