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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Five people were confirmed dead, at the weekend, following the collapse of a three-storey building under construction, at Obingwu-Asa, in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State.
It was gathered that the building had been under construction for some months now and had reached the roofing stage.
However, last Friday morning, six workers came to commence the roofing of the building. One of the workers was reported to have gone out to buy food, while the rest were said to be carrying roofing sheets and planks from the basement to the last floor, preparatory for the commencement of work for the day.
All of a sudden, the building collapsed and five workers were trapped. Efforts were said to have been made for several hours to clear the debris and rescue the trapped workers. When eventually they were found, all of them were confirmed dead and their remains deposited in a morgue within the area.
Speaking on the incident, the Deputy President General of non-indigenes in the area, Tony Anaekwe, said they were surprised over the building collapse.
“Before the incident, there was no sign that the building would collapse as there were no cracks on the wall”, he said.
He commended the Abia State Government and the Mayor of Ukwa West Local Government Area, Mr. Newman Azu, for their swift response in evacuating the victims.
Meanwhile, House of Reps member representing Ukwa West and East Federal Constituency, Chris Nkwonta, has expressed his heartfelt sympathy with the people of Obingwu-Asa, the Ukwa West Local Government Area and families of the victims, describing it as an unfortunate tragedy. Nkwonta said he was saddened by the incident that has claimed five lives, saying the building collapse was yet another tragedy that has befallen the people of Asa.
