In one incident, two-storey building collapsed in Oko, Orumba North Council Area in Anambra State on Tuesday, July 6, while in another incident, a two-storey building collapsed in Amikwo village, Awka, the state capital, in the early hours of Wedneday, July 7.
Four persons were reportedly trapped inside the debris in the Oko collapsed building but were rescued with injuries, while about 20 persons reportedly escaped death in that of Amikwo Awka.
The Amikwo building reportedly collapsed at about 2 am, falling on part of an occupied nearby two-storey building.
Though no life was lost, building materials worth millions of naira were wasted in the unfortunate incident.
It was gathered that the first floor of the two storey building sank into the ground, while the remaining portion collapsed, leaning on a nearby two-storey building with occupants.
While blaming the collapse to poor mixture and reinforcement, the occupants said that for fear of the unknown, many of them stayed outside till morning.
The Amikwo building had earlier, been sealed by officials of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA).
Managing Director, ACTDA, Ven Amaechi Okwuosa, who spoke on the incident, revealed that the building had been under construction for the past ten years and was marked for demolition in 2018.
“Although the developer had commenced demolition of the building, the right equipment was not used, hence the collapse,” he said.
While appreciating God that no life was lost, Venerable Okwuosa observed that there are many such buildings which have been marked for demolition by their engineers.
Okwuosa pledged the agency’s commitment towards ensuring the structural integrity of buildings done in the state.
Reacting to the Oko incident, Executive Chairman of Anambra Physical Planning Board, Barrister Chike Maduekwe, blamed the incident on compromise of structural integrity.
He said the structure had since been sealed, while development partners had been invited for questioning.
