One Killed, Many Injured As Another Building Collapses In Anambra

One person was killed and about 20 others sustained injuries when a
three-storey building under construction collapsed at Eziora village,
Adazi-Ani in Anaocha local council area of Anambra yesterday.

The building, jointly owned by Mr. Uche Okeke and his five siblings
who are children of the transport magnet, Chief GU Okeke, was at the
completion stage when it collapsed.

It was gathered that over 25 persons were working on the site when the
incident occurred and at the time of filing this report, one person
was still trapped under the rubble.

Okeke, who spoke to reporters said: "It is a sad thing and we are
still confused over the incident because we awarded the contract over
a year ago to a professional. We have spent millions of naira on the
project and we were not in doubt that quality materials were used in
the construction.

"One worker was still trapped and we immediately ordered for earth
moving equipment from Onitsha to remove the rubbles to save his life.

"We reported to the Police immediately and they helped us in the
rescue mission. Unfortunately, the man under the rubble died before he
could be rescued."

According to him, the body of the deceased had been deposited at St.
Joseph's Hospital mortuary at Adazi-Nnukwu.

One of the labourers, who identified himself as Mr. Olisa Obaze, said
he broke his knee cap in an attempt to jump down from the three-storey
building.

He said: "We were carrying blocks upstairs when we suddenly heard a
large crack sound. We scampered for safety and I had to jump from the
three-storey building. After the incident, we started calling on our
members and realized that one man was still under the debris."

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Uchenna Ezeh said that full
investigation into the matter has begun.