A mother and her 14-year-old daughter died when a three-story building under construction collapsed at Anata Anaba, Okpoko, in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The tragedy happened at around 9:45 pm on Wednesday, leaving the mother and her daughter trapped inside their apartment in a nearby bungalow.
According to eyewitnesses, the building made a loud noise, and its walls were said to have cracked before it caved in, sending residents into a state of panic.
Residents say emergency responders rescued some of the other people trapped in the rubble and rushed them to hospital.
“The woman and her daughter were in their apartment in a nearby bungalow when the three-story building collapsed and trapped them. Before the building caved in, it made a loud noise as the walls started making cracking noises before falling one after the other.
“Some other people who were also trapped in the rubble were later rescued and rushed to the hospital by an emergency response team that mobilized to the scene to evacuate victims,” an eyewitness said.
Some residents said they had voiced concerns about the construction, contending that the waterlogged condition of the land made it unfit for a three-story building.
They asserted that the engineer who first handled the project had recommended the builder cap the structure at two floors due to the ground conditions, but that advice was disregarded.
Residents said another engineer was subsequently brought in to carry the project on to three stories.
The collapse claimed the life of the landlady of the neighboring bungalow and her youngest child.
The woman’s son, known as Chimobi, said three family members were inside the apartment when the building collapsed.
“I was outside at the time of the incident. But my mother and my sister were in the bedroom when the building collapsed directly on them, leaving them with no opportunity to escape.
“It’s unfortunate. We had earlier warned the builder about the danger posed by the structure, and we were joined by other residents in calling for the construction to be stopped, but our concerns were not heeded,” he lamented.
While confirming the incident on Thursday, the Anambra State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, called it an unfortunate event.
Ojukwu inspected the site together with Noble Igwe, the member representing Ogbaru One Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
According to the commissioner, the collapse resulted from the use of substandard materials, and he noted that the authorities had earlier served a stop-work notice on the building.
“The structure was an illegal building, and we had ordered its demolition, and the land is going to be forfeited to the state government. We are looking into other unapproved buildings currently under construction in the area.
“It collapsed under the weight of negligence and poor-quality construction. It fell over and killed the residents of a neighboring bungalow, a woman and her child,” Ojukwu added.
In September, one person died and two others were rescued when a two-story building being demolished manually collapsed in the Aboru area of Lagos State.
Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, revealed that the incident took place at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, within the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.
Oke-Osanyintolu stated that the agency’s Alpha Eagle Response Team was sent to the scene at once after a distress call was received.
