Nineteen in untimely death as building collapses in Abuja
Collapsed building
At at least nineteen dead bodies have been pulled out from under the rubbles of a condemned building that collapsed in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja on Thursday.
Those that were caught by the collapsed were mainly illegal occupants who police described as squatters and there had been gory tales of how the squatters jumped from two storeys in the the upper layer to escape from being trapped.
The collapse early Wednesday involved a half-built building that authorities said had been declared structurally unsound, but residents said around 50 people lived there illegallyas squatters.
Sources said there were about three or four storeys high.
“Nineteen dead bodies have so far been recovered while 12 others were rescued alive,” said Abuja police spokesman Abass Jimoh.
National Emergency Management Agency deputy director Daniel Balarabe Gambo put the death toll at 17, however, and added that residents had been warned that the building was unsafe.
Gambo said they had been told to evacuate, but refused.
“They were given notices to vacate the building, but they ignored the warning,” he said. “It was the structure we tested and found that it was not up to standard.”
Officials said that rescue operations were hampered by a lack of digging equipment.
The site, located in a residential area with a mix of large, walled-off houses and apartment buildings, had already been bulldozed on Thursday, leaving only piles of smashed concrete, broken wood and twisted metal.
One woman who was among those at the site on Thursday said her sister and her sister’s four-year-old son were among those killed.
“She was trying to come out and a pillar fell on her,” said Vivian Rogunwa, 29. Rogunwa said she did not live in the building, but was there at the time of the collapse because she was staying with a friend and managed to escape.
A 28-year-old man was among those who said they jumped out of the building when it began to shake.
“I woke up and I heard the building shaking,” Hussaini Abubakar said. “I jumped from the second floor.”
It took less than five minutes for the building to cave, residents said, while disputing officials’ claims that they had been warned to leave.
“The building did not give anybody any sign that it was going to fall,” said Rogunwa.
Of the warning officials said they had provided, she said, “there was nothing like that.” Others who said they lived there agreed.
Building collapses are relatively common in Nigeria, mainly due to the use of sub-standard materials and violations of construction regulations in a country that has long been tainted by corruption.
Minister for Abuja, Bala Mohammed, said on national television that it was the third building collapse in the city since he came into office three months ago, though he did not give details.
Government officials have pledged to better enforce construction codes since the collapse, while Gambo said police should be called in to vacate buildings deemed unsafe.
In July 2008, a building under construction collapsed in Abuja, killing at least three workers.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said in Abuja on Thursday that it would investigate and prosecute the developer of the building which collapsed in Abuja on Wednesday.
Adamu Balanti, the Director Research and Statistics in the commission, who represented the Commissioner of Insurance, Fola Daniel, told journalists when he visited the site that appropriate measures would be taken to ensure that the developer was sanctioned.
“We intend in this case to go and find out if the owner of this building has insurance to cover this, if not, we will prosecute him.
“We will work with all government agencies to ensure the way forward just like Lagos State has just done by passing a building control act,” he said.
According to him, no building is approved in Lagos State unless it has an insurance cover.
He assured the people that the commission would work toward ensuring that other state governments adopted the same lead.
“But in this case, we will definitely show example and ensure that anybody building without insurance will be prosecuted,” he stressed.
The building located on Ikole Street, Area 11, collapsed at about 4.30 a.m. on Wednesday.
A rescue worker who pleaded anonymity told NAN that the chances of finding another victim alive were very slim, considering the nature of the wreckage.
Asked to comment on the total number of deaths recorded so far, he said: “ All I can say is that the number of deaths is being under- reported.
NAN reports that the rescue team concentrated on the removal of debris from the site.
A survivor, Hauwa Jubril, said she lost her cousin and his wife and their two children.
“I am left with nobody in this world in a twinkle of an eye as I lost all I treasured in life,” Ms. Jubril said.
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