COLLAPSED BUILDING KILL 4 DEAD, INJURE 6 IN OWERRI

Four persons have been confirmed dead and six others seriously injured following the collapse of a three- storey building opposite fire service station in Owerri municipal council area of Imo state.

The incident was said to have occurred around 4am yesterday.

Addressing Newsmen at the scene of the incident, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, said those who were confirmed dead so far included a male and a female adult as well as two little children from different families.

He explained that rescue operation commenced shortly after the incident following a distress call from the neighbourhood.

Mr.Ezike noted that the six persons who sustained various degrees of injuries were receiving medical attention at a police hospital in Owerri while the remains of those who died at the incident had been deposited at the morgue.

Also, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Rochas Okorocha on Operations ‎and Chairman Bureau for Lands, Mr. Kingsley Uju, said the collapsed structure was an old two storey building but was being elevated to three floors by the owner with tenants still occupying the flats.

He expressed regret that despite order by the Owerri Capital Development Authority to stop work at the building, the owner and the site engineer went ahead with the construction.

Mr. Uju said the owner of the building and the contractor handling the project had questions to answer as preliminary investigation revealed that the collapse was as a result of overload and weak structure.

Radio Nigeria gathered that a rescue team made up of men of the Nigerian Red Cross ‎Society and security operatives were on ground while earth moving machines deployed to the area were seen removing the rubbles to ensure nobody was trapped in the building.

CHINAZO ILECHUKWU