By Emmanuel Ndukuba
Many have been trapped as a five-storey building under construction collapsed at Basden Street, Fegge, in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra state.
It was gathered that the building, meant to serve commercial purposes on completion, collapsed in the early hours of Sunday while some of the construction workers were on the last floor.
An excavator has quickly been moved to the site to begin the evacuation of rubbles and possible rescue operations of any trapped victims.
The reason for the collapse has not yet been ascertained but as of the time of filing this report on Sunday, a source near the area said one person has been rescued as rescue operations continue at the site.
When contacted the State police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the report but said their men are already on ground to coordinate the rescue operation.
He however declined comment on number of casualties, saying the rescue operation when completed will answer that.
“Immediately the incident was reported, the DPO in charge of the area quickly cordoned off the place and our DCP Ops is already on ground to coordinate the rescue operation which is ongoing.
“The number of casualties or fatalities if any can’t be discussed now until the rescue operation is completed,” Ikenga said.
