SEVEN persons were rescued when a three-storey building under construction at Aboga along the Igwuruta-Etche Road in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State caved in.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred at about 1:30 pm on Saturday while workers were on the site.
Though no life was lost, it was said that seven of the nine workers who were working in the building were rescued with various degrees of injuries, while two of them jumped off the building.
One of the eyewitnesses said, “Getting here, I saw the building collapsing. While some of the workers were able to jump out, others could not as the building collapsed on them.
Another eyewitness who did not want his name in print said, “I heard a loud sound while I was in the house; when I rushed out, I saw the building collapsing. Some persons from this area and passersby started using axes to break through the debris to rescue the victims before the government and police came to join the rescue effort”.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Emeka Kalu, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
Kalu, while describing the incident as unfortunate, said that aside from the initial rescue efforts by residents in the neighbourhood, the authority of the Ikwerre Local Government Area and officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, as well as the Ministry of Special Duties, moved in just in time while responding to distress calls.
He said the ministries immediately deployed excavators, a fire truck, and an ambulance to ensure the timely rescue of the victims, some of whom were trapped in the rubble.
Speaking to newsmen at the scene, the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Evans Bipi, said it is unfortunate to begin the year with a building collapse.
Bipi attributed the incident to the use of substandard materials by the developer, which he said he had warned against in previous cases.
The commissioner said, “It is unfortunate that we are beginning the year with this tragic incident, though no life was lost. This is the 4th building collapse we have witnessed in the state since I assumed office.
“Preliminary investigation at the scene of the incident shows that the building may have collapsed due to the use of substandard materials by the developer.
“Specifically, the use of 12mm rods for decking a building is a clear violation of construction standards. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, as similar cases of building collapse in the state have been linked to the same cause—the use of inferior materials.”
He also accused the developer of building without a government-approved building plan and ordered that the site be sealed pending an investigation into the cause of the building collapse.
According to the statement, the commissioner has summoned the property owner to report to the Ministry for questioning in tandem with investigations.
He further said, “As a government, we are not happy with the repeated causes of building collapse in the state that have claimed lives, injured several persons, and caused avoidable damages and losses to developers in the state.
“Let me warn that we will no longer condone a situation where some builders will continue to violate the building code, including building without a government-approved building plan and compromising safety standards by using substandard materials in a bid to save cost.”