A builder identified as Chizoba Aniefuna and his two sons died following the collapse of a three-story building at Egbu Umuenem, Otolo Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
It was gathered that the building with a penthouse, which was still under construction, collapsed at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, September 3, 2023, while workers were getting ready to start plastering work on the structure.
Other workers, including a relative of the builder, who were trapped in the building were later rescued and rushed to St. Felix Hospital, Nnewi.
“The building came down at about 1 am this morning and it came with a thunderous noise. Three people, a man and his two sons, who were also supposed to be part of those to work on the site died in the incident. They came from Nimo community and were sleeping over so as to begin their work early in the morning before the incident happened,” an eyewitness said.
When officials of the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, and the Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi North LGA, Engr. Chris Obiora arrived at the scene, manual labourers were seen on a rescue mission as the excavator brought to rescue the victims broke down at the site.
Addressing journalists after the dead bodies were brought out of the debris, the Anambra State Chairman of COREN, Engr. Victor Meju explained that poor foundation, concrete mixture, quality of materials, wearing capacity, nonconformity to standard, and non-approval from relevant regulatory authorities led to the avoidable tragedy.
He announced the seal-off of the collapse site, adding that the owner of the building, Mr. Chukwunafu Anamanjo, will be invited for questioning to aid the investigation.
The Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi North LGA, Engr. Obiora, called on people to always make use of certified Engineers and other relevant personnel in the building sector, adding that monitoring teams are also important in ensuring that all stick to the standard.
The Sectoral Head of COREN in charge of Nnewi and environs, Engr. Arinze Okwuosa said his team observed a lot of foul play in the course of carrying out their job, calling for government intervention to forestall future occurrences.