It was a tragic moment at Otolo Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, as a storey building under construction collapsed, trapping four persons.
It was
gathered that the incident happened at Egbu Umuenem part of Otolo Nnewi,
resulting to the instant death of the builder, identified as Chizoba Aniefuna,
and his two son; another victim trapped in the rubble was rescued by emergency
responders and rushed to St. Felix Hospital in Nnewi for treatment.
The
incident just 24 hours after four siblings were killed in a similar incident in
neighbouring Enugu State.
The
unfortunate incident attracted the presence of the officials of the Council for
Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN); the Transition Committee Chairman
of Nnewi North LGA, Engr. Chris Obiora, among others. It was also reported the
excavator earlier brought to rescue the trapped victims got spoilt in the
process, which made the workers at the site and other residents of the area to
resort to manually clearing the debris, in search of the victims.
Speaking
at the scene, the State Chairman of COREN, Engr. Victor Meju, who announced the
immediate seal-off of the site, attributed the collapse of the building to
substandard construction and the use of substandard raw materials. He also
noted that the building did not conform to the expected standard and did not
also get the approval of the relevant regulatory bodies that would have done
the necessary checks and monitoring before and during the construction, to
ensure it conformed to the set standard.
In their separate remarks on the incident, the Nnewi North TC Chairman, Engr. Obiora, and the Sectoral Head of COREN in charge of Nnewi Zone, Mr. Arinze Okwuosa, frowned at such avoidable wastage of human lives, which they said would have been averted if the owner of the building, Mr. Chukwunafu Anamanjo, had followed the necessary procedures and taken the necessary actions in the course of the building.
They
further warned developers in the state to always ensure that their buildings
conform to the expected standard by following the laid down procedures and
getting the necessary approvals from the relevant agencies. They also cautioned
developers to avoid engaging unprofessional and inexperienced builders, while
also warning them to avoid using substandard building materials, which, they
said, were usually the major causes of the most building collapse.
It was
thereafter announced that the owner of the collapsed building, Mr. Anamanjo,
would be invited for questioning by the relevant bodies, while investigation is
still ongoing on the tragic incident.
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