7 feared dead as building collapses near Anambra polytechnic
– Seven feared dead as building collapses near Anambra Oko polytechnic
– Governor Obiano says the contractor and owner of the collapsed building will face prosecution
At least seven people have lost their lives after a three-storey uncompleted building collapsed at Nwagu village near the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra state, on Sunday night, May 22, The Punch reports.
According to the report, most of the victims were masons who used the ground floor as a temporary residence.
Speaking to newsmen on Monday, May 23, Obinna Onuchukwu, the public relation officer of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, said the collapsed building located at the village adjacent to school, belonged to a private estate developer.
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Although he wasn’t able to confirm the number of casualties, Onuchukwu noted that students of the polytechnic would have rented the building on its completion.
He added that students occupying adjacent buildings to the collapsed one had been evacuated from the area.
He said: “There is no record of collapsed structure in the polytechnic. That shows that this one isn’t ours. Our Rector, Prof. Godwin Onu, has visited the scene and immediately ordered the evacuation of students residing within the axis of the collapsed building.”
On getting to the scene of the event before proceeding on a visit to Oko polytechnic, Governor Willie Obiano described the incident as sad.
File Photo of Collapsed building
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He however said that the contractor and owner of the collapsed building will face prosecution.
According to him, the state already had an agency that would test the materials used for the construction of the building.
Governor Obinano also sympathised with students whose hostels had been shut because of the incident. He said their safety was very important to the government.
The governor said: “The safety of students and every resident remain a major concern to my government; hence we will not hesitate to pull down these structures, if they fail the structural resistance test.”
The unfortunate incident comes just a week after a market under construction at Itoku area in Ogun state collapsed and killed one person while many others were severely injured.
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