A sudden building collapse on Thursday at the Ekeoyibo Market, Amawbia, Anambra State, has resulted in at least two deaths, with many injured.
An unconfirmed number of traders were reportedly buried under the debris of the building which caved in around noon.
Eyewitnesses blamed the disaster on substandard engineering work, alleging that the building’s structural integrity had been compromised.
At the time of filing this report, two persons had been rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building by men of the Red Cross and other security agencies and rushed to the hospital.
Among the dead persons recovered were a woman and security personnel who were said to have gone to purchase some items at the structure.
Meanwhile, rescue operations are still ongoing, with emergency responders working tirelessly to search for survivors amidst the rubble.
Confirming the development, the Managing Director of Awka Capital Territory Development Authority, ACTDA, Mr Ossy Onuko, under whose jurisdiction the project is situated, has debunked reports that the collapsed structure was a two-story building.
Onuko explained that it was the decking of a toilet facility being built at the market that caved in, describing the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable to the Agency, as the building had no approval from the ACTDA.
The ACTDA boss revealed that investigations are ongoing to unravel the cause of the collapse, assuring that the agency is committed to ensuring standards in structural developments in the Awka Capital Territory.
“It was not a two-storey building but a toilet structure.
“The market lacked an appropriate toilet facility and it was in the wisdom of the market building control committee, which was a joint committee comprising officials of the ACTDA, the Awka South LGA, and the Amawbia town union, to erect the facility to serve the market.
“We have received side reports that the decking was done only 8 days ago and did not set well before the people went and removed the bamboo used to support the decking, even when it ought to have been allowed to stay at least 21 days.
“The removal of bamboo last night was what led to the collapse this morning but we await the report of the investigation,” Onuko said.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the contractor/Financier of the building, Engr Arinze Anyadiegwu dismissed the allegations of substandard materials allegations as sabotage by perceived enemies.
He insisted that the materials were of quality and high standard.
He said, “The structure is an ongoing ultra-modern toilet with approval from LG allocation.
“I heard about the unfortunate incident from Lagos where I traveled after receiving an award from the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) on Saturday.
“I want to state categorically that we’ve been using quality standard materials. All the rods we used are 16mm.
“We have over 32 solid pillars with 5 feet deep for such a small-sized structure. It was well fortified.
“The situation was not out of mismanagement. That place was in contention with enemies who want to do the same thing we did.
“This is pure sabotage. I’ve built over 100 shops in the same market and none had any problem. I’m actually the highest financier of the market.”
