No life lost in Onitsha building collapse ― Anambra govt

Anambra State government has debunked the publication making the round that three persons in a building that collapse at Ochanja central market, Onitsha, on Saturday evening.

The government said nobody die during the unfortunate incident.

According to the Chairman/Managing Director, Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Barrister Chike Francis Maduekwe, who spoke to Tribune Online in a telephone interview, on the development, revealed that only one person, a girl, sustain injury and that nobody die in the incident.

He appeals to the public to disregard the publications.

“I am the Chairman/Managing Director of Anambra State Physical Planning Board, there is no how such an incident will happen that involved loss of lives in Onitsha that I or my staff in the area will not know. I was only informed that the building collapsed and injured only one girl, who is currently responding to treatment at the hospital, in a swift reaction, I call my staff in the area to find out the cause and I was told that the building actually collapse but nobody dies in the incident,” he explains.

He appeals to journalists to always call relevant authorities for proper verification before publication.

He also restated he promised to meet with all the concerned stakeholders including the traders themselves, next week, to look into the matter.

It was earlier reported that three people were killed on Saturday evening, as a two-storey building located inside Ochanja Central Market Onitsha, collapsed.

According to an eye witness, a two-storey building structure was said to have collapsed at about 5:45 pm on Saturday killing not less than three persons.

The eyewitness said the collapse of the building was a result of the further erection of the structure on the already weak structure, without necessary reinforcement.

This happen a day after some traders at the market had protested the attempt by market authorities to erect additional structures on the existing old and weak buildings in the area on Friday.

The traders were said to have taken their protest to Awka the State capital to the Governor to prevail on the leadership of the market to halt further erection of structures on the existing ones for the safety of the market traders who stand the danger of the buildings collapsing on them.

The protesting traders were said to have barricades the Anambra State Headquarters of Physical Planning Board, Amawobia and the gate of the State Government House, along Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Awka, saying that they were in the state capital to appeal to Governor Willie Obiano, to urgently intervene to prevent future building collapse that may lead to loss of lives and properties in the market.

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