Metro

Rivers: One feared dead in building collapse

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6 months ago

One victim, a middle-aged man identified as Udeme from Akwa-Ibom State, has been feared dead in a collapsed two-story building under construction at the Egbelu Mgbaraja axis of Ogbogoro Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

This is the second collapsed building being witnessed in Rivers after the collapse of a three-story building, also under construction, at the Iriebe axis of the same local government area, although without any casualties in the earlier incident.

An eyewitness, Mr. Jonathan Obey, said the building at Ogbogoro caved in on Monday, November 4, 2024, around 2 p.m. while work was in progress on the second floor, killing one of the workers while another narrowly escaped death with severe injuries.

He observed that the building could have collapsed due to some deliberate violations by the property developer.

“It’s a building collapse; as we speak, one person is trapped right inside the rubble. When we first came, we tried to rescue the person but couldn’t. When we did our investigation, we found out that they used substandard materials to execute the project. We also found out that the foundation was 3 feet for a two-story building, which was wrong.”

“We also found out that some of the rods used by the builders were of low quality. The decking itself was not chained; there was no centre beam. It was supposed to have a centre beam and a pillar in the middle, but it doesn’t have that. They did not use enough cement in casting the first decking,” the eyewitness stated.

In the meantime, the Rivers State Government has declared the property developer, Vincent Nwoye, wanted and sealed the premises of the collapsed building.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Evans Bipi, during an on-the-spot inspection of the collapsed building, accused the developer of gross negligence and defaulting on the extant building laws and regulations of Rivers State.

He cited the failure of the property developer to obtain a government-approved building plan and the use of substandard materials as the causes of the building collapse and avoidable death.

“We have repeatedly warned that if you are caught building without a government-approved building plan, you will certainly face the penalty.”

“The government has sealed this property in question and declared the owner wanted because a life has been lost. We need to question him to know why he chose to use substandard materials to execute the project and why he decided to use 12 mm rod for a two-story building.”

“It would interest the public to know that even the property does not have government approval; it is something the government will not take lightly. We will use this developer as a scapegoat for others to learn.”

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development also described the incident as one too many while warning property developers to desist from cutting corners and endangering the lives of innocent contractors.

He said the Rivers State Government sympathises with the bereaved family and the people of the Ogbogoro Community over the unfortunate incident.

“Last week we were at the site of a collapsed 3-story building at Iriebe. Though no life was lost in that incident, in this case, a life was lost here in Ogbogoro.

“We truly sympathise with the family and the Ogbogoro Community where the victim resides. We are going to take him to the mortuary and notify the family; we are also going to disclose the mortuary so that the family members can identify and recover his remains for burial.”

“This should serve as a warning to those who build without a building plan and to those who build with substandard materials.”

On his part, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Samuel Anya, expressed sadness over the loss of life in the building collapse due to the unethical and reckless practices of the property developer.

He accused the property developer of prioritising profits over the safety of the construction workers and prospective tenants.

Later, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Bipi, ensured that the remains of the victim were carefully pulled out from the rubble with an excavator by officials of the Ministry and deposited in the morgue.

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