An unspecified number of people were yesterday rescued by authorities of the Cross River State government following the collapse of a building at Nta Eke Street around Ikot Ushie axis of Calabar Municipality in River State.
At the time of filing in this report, no death had been reported, but victims had been rushed to hospital for medical attention.
Findings showed that the failed structure was originally designed for a foundation which is qualified to carry a two-storey building, unfortunately the engineers attempted to increase the structure to a three storey building.
Suddenly, the structure collapsed, trapping some people, and in a swift reaction, the House of Assembly member-elect, Mr Stanley Nsemo, sent an excavator to begin rescue of victims before the state government sent another rescue team that came and got many who were trapped in the rumbles.
Cross River State commissioner for information, Eric Anderson, said there was no death at the time of filing this report.
Anderson appealed for calm, saying the state government had already deployed relevant agencies to assist in the rescue operation as well as provide medical support to victims and to provide maximum security around the area.
“Preliminary investigations into the incident indicate that the cause of the building collapse is not unconnected to negligence and use of sub-standard building materials which had earlier attracted the attention of the state Ministry of Urban Renewal to issue the builder an advisory “Stop Work” notice which was ignored by the builder.
“Already, a number of persons trapped in the collapsed building have been rescued and have taken to hospital for proper treatment,” the commissioner said.
He stated that full investigation would be carried out on the incident.
