More than 20 workmen escaped death on Tuesday when a two-storey building under construction on Daily Independent Street, Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area, Delta State, collapsed.
The incident occurred in the midst of an early morning rain shower in the area.
Daily Independent Street, which is directly opposite the Asaba Airport and leads to Vanguard Newspapers Press and Nigeria Police Station (formerly SARS station), was in panic as early as Saturday morning.
It was, however, reported that some of the workers had been rescued, but a hunt for others was still ongoing.
One of the workers at the scene, who pleaded for anonymity, said some workers injured themselves jumping from the second level to avoid being trapped; others had unscratchable injuries.
He said the injured people were taken to the hospital for medication.
“All the workers have fled from the site, while the site engineer is said to have run away to avoid arrest and the anger of the residents,” he said.
One of those who was trapped inside the rubble begged for help, and the rescue crew found him and others.
The estate management team is at the site, coordinating rescue efforts with the electricity task force that has requested that power be disconnected at the site.
By the time of publishing, the state administration had not issued an official statement regarding the cause of the collapse or the total number of people affected by the tragedy.
Calls and texts placed across to the Delta State’s Commissioner for Housing, Hon Godknows Agele, by journalists, were not returned as of the time of filing this report.
However, a spokesman for the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, who gave his name as John, said they were at the scene.
“Our men are on the ground to assist in the rescue mission,” she said.
