TRAGEDY: Many feared dead as 8-storey building collapses in Imo

 

Varied number of workers, up to 40, were said to have been trapped in the rubble as an eight-storey building under construction in Owerri, Imo State, collapsed on Thursday.

A Vanguard newspaper reporter who was at the scene of the collapsed building at about 7:01 pm, quoting a witness, said about 10 persons had been rescued and seven severely injured taken to hospital while two were feared dead.

Many issues were raised by some of the survivors, which could have led to the building collapse. One of the workers said that a few days ago they noticed cracks in some parts of the building and complained to the engineer who assured them he would do something about it.

Members of the Red Cross were seen at the scene assisting in the evacuation of both the dead and injured, moving some to hospitals for immediate medical attention.

One of the survivors, who introduced his name as Prosper, said that they were nine in number that had survived. Five had been taken to the hospital who sustained various degrees of injuries.

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According to Prosper, “I was very close to the building when I heard a crack around the pillars and I started running and before you know it, it is like a sound of a bomb. The building fell down.

“We are working in different departments I can’t count the actual number. We are many. We may be up to 40 in number. They have taken five people to the hospital. They were badly injured.”

Another survivor, who goes with the name Ike said, “We are up to 20 in number, we have those mixing cement. We have those pouring cement. There are plenty of people. We pray that God will help them come out alive.”