At least seven persons sustained injuries when a three-storey building under construction collapsed at Aboga along Igwuruta-Etche road in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when construction work was going on.
No life was lost in the incident but seven workers who were working in the building were rescued with injuries.
Eyewitness said, “All the people in the building were rescued alive with injuries. The last person was rescued towards the night with serious injuries. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.”
It was learnt that rescue operation was made possible by the joint effort of residents from the neighbourhood, the authority of Ikwerre Local Government Area and officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development as well as the Ministry of Special Duties who deployed excavators, fire truck and ambulance to ensure timely rescue of the victims.
The state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Evans Bipi, in a statement by his Press Secretary, Emeka Idika, said it was unfortunate to begin the year with a building collapse incident.
He, however, attributed the incident to the use of substandard materials by the developer.
“Specifically, the use of 12mm rods for decking a building is a clear violation of construction standards. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, as similar cases of building collapses in the state have been linked to the same cause – the use of inferior materials,” he said.
