Many are feared trapped on Thursday, after a three-storey building with four suspended floors located behind the Anambra State House of Assembly, off Ekwueme Square, Okpuno Awka, the Anambra State capital, collapsed.
The building, said to be under construction and at the roofing stage, suddenly caved in at about midday on Thursday.
The chaotic scene had thrown residents and passers-by into panic as it was gathered that some yet-to-be-identified number of occupants, especially construction workers, were trapped in the rubble.
Eyewitnesses near the scene said the structure suddenly caved in without any prior sign, adding that the number of workers and other occupants trapped could not be ascertained yet.
The cause of the collapse and casualty figure has yet to be ascertained, but some officials from the state Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and the materials testing department are already on the ground to ascertain the cause of the collapse.
The News Chronicle correspondent, who visited the scene of the collapse, observed as some bystanders and other passers-by initiated some rescue efforts in a bid to see if anyone trapped could be rescued, amidst a lack of logistics and other necessary equipment, such as excavators.
According to one of the eyewitnesses at the scene, the building collapsed as some artisans were carrying out some construction works at the roof of the structure.
“The building made some noise as it was collapsing while some construction workers were at the site. No one can say the cause of the collapse for now, but some government officials arrived at the scene shortly after. However, rescue efforts have not begun, as they said they were waiting for excavators to arrive.”
The Chairman, COREN-ERM Anambra State, Sir Victor Meju, said, “It was a five-storey building, the sixth floor still under construction at its roofing stage. It is a private building. It was gathered that the structure was roofed last Thursday.
“On-site preliminary investigation revealed that it was a vertically complete collapse to the rubble. On-site preliminary investigation also revealed that the collapse occurred as a result of a poor concrete mixture and a likely foundation problem.
