Awka – About ten persons on Wednesday escaped death after a two storey building under construction at Amikwo village, Awka collapsed on part of a building they were occupants of.
According to eyewitnesses who would rather not be quoted, the building collapsed at about in the early hours of yesterday, falling on part of an occupied nearby two-storey building.
When TNC correspondent visited the scene this morning, officials of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority, ACTDA, had sealed off the premises.
It was also gathered that no life was lost as a result of the incident.
Efforts to speak with the developer of the fallen structure and the affected one proved abortive as they refused to talk.
Reacting to the incident, the Managing Director of the ACTDA, Ven Amaechi Okwuosa revealed that the building has been ongoing for the past ten years and was marked for demolition in 2018.
He however noted that although the developer had commenced demolition of the building, the right equipment was not used hence the collapse.
“When we observed that the structural integrity of the structure has been compromised, we marked the building for demolition but the developer opted to undertake the demolition.
“We however gathered that the demolition was not done as it should hence the building collapse,” the ACTDA boss remarked
Okwuosa said the agency is committed to ensuring structural integrity of buildings done in the state capital territory.
“We are moving round, identifying these buildings that have overstayed the course of construction. As an agency, we want to ensure that the lives and property of residents within the Awka Capital Territory are protected and that is why we are not taking development control lightly. Buildings within this area must be done according to plan and standards,” he maintained.
