F
our persons have been reported dead as a building situated at Agbama Housing Estate, Umuahia collapsed leaving other casualties critically injured.
Residents in the area had to begin rescue mission as the injured were taken to the Federal medical centre in Umuahia.
Eye witnesses said that the building was under reconstruction and gave a little account of what happened while one of the surviving site workers thanked God as he narrowly escaped death.
Already a family of four, a man with his two children and the mother in-law while the wife who was lucky to have escaped death but critically injured with three rescuers were taken to the Federal medical centre, Umuahia.
Unfortunately, one of the rescuers became a victim of the collapsed building as one of the pillars fell on him while the child he was to rescue died.
The uncompleted Old building was inhabited by labourers and the family of five and was said to have been abandoned by the former engineer for some reason yet unknown but reinforcement work started on this same building early this year with a new engineer in charge who probably thought that addition of extra pillars would offer solution to a building with faulty foundation but apparently reconstruction plan failed and the site engineer we hear is on the run as of the time of this report.
Rescue effort began with cranes excavating sand and debris to be sure that no one is being buried underground.
Although there are speculation about the owner of the building but no one is sure while the site engineer is on the run.
According to some residents, more lives would have been saved if the State Emergency Agency (SEMA and NEMA) had live up to the task expected of them in such incidents but they could not offer any help as their apparatus on ground is said to be archaic and out of place.
Meanwhile Governor Theodore Orji visited the collapsed building site and paid a visit the casualties at hospital has made provision for their medical care and promised to look into the matter for further investigation.
