The death toll from three collapsed buildings out of five under construction at the Oduigbo section of the Ochanja Central Market in Onitsha South Council Area of Anambra State has risen to nine, authorities say.
The incident which occurred Monday night at about 7 pm, was said to have trapped many while one dead body was recovered and three injured persons rescued as of early Tuesday morning.
However, 8 more dead bodies have been recovered from the debris, as rescue operations continued Tuesday by men of the relevant State Government agencies, in collaboration with the State chapter of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
It was gathered that the buildings were being developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement between the Anambra state government, represented by the Anambra Urban Regeneration Council, and a private developer.
Addressing traders at the market on Tuesday when she visited the site, Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo expressed deep sadness at the incident, describing it as tragic and an incident that was not supposed to happen.
The Governor announced that 26 individuals had been rescued and hospitalized, with rescue efforts ongoing to locate those still trapped under the rubble.
He emphasized his commitment to tackling the issue of illegal construction and impunity in the state, revealing that a private developer erected the collapsed building without government approval.
“The contractor at his own cost will come and put down the illegal buildings he erected here.
“They are all going to come down. My government did not approve of this building. We will redesign this area and build it properly.
“All buildings constructed without proper approval will be brought down, including structures currently under construction at other markets.
“A comprehensive inventory of buildings in Anambra markets and public places will be conducted.
“Markets will undergo integrity tests to identify and remove potentially unsafe structures and individuals found responsible for illegal construction will face legal consequences,” the Governor maintained.
Speaking at the site, the Chairman of the State Physical Planning Board, Barr Chike Maduekwe who spoke to our correspondent confirmed that no less than 9 people had been feared killed, and others sustained severe degrees of injury while rescue operations are still ongoing to ascertain the number of victims in the unfortunate incident.
Barr Maduekwe however, denied the reports in some sections of the media that the state government approved the developer of the building, reiterating the warning against indiscriminate building without proper approval from the agency.
“This once again brings to the fore, the need for our people to do things the right way.
“These approvals have been eased up so that anyone who wishes to secure them can obtain them once they have done the right things.
“The governor’s directive is that any illegal building will be brought down and that is what this agency will do,” Maduekwe reiterated.
Some traders who would not want to be mentioned called on the state government to take action against some developers in other parts of the market, whose buildings were almost collapsing.
According to them, the structures pose a grave danger to the traders but they could not talk, due to how wealthy and influential the developers are.
