Three persons were injured when a two-story building caved in along Okilton Drive in Ada George of Port Harcourt on Thursday morning.
It was learned that some of the workers at the site were trapped in the building which was under construction.
An eyewitness who gave his name as Tonye said they heard a loud sound just about the break of dawn which frightened residents.
While saying that the cause of the collapse could not be immediately ascertained, he stated that some of the workers on the site were living in the building.
He stated, “What we saw was that the three persons rescued this morning were still alive and they were taken to the hospital.
“We are aware that the POP people and the tilers who are working in the building also live inside the building. Right now we don’t know whether there are other casualties. ”
A female resident who did not want her name mentioned said when they approached the scene of the incident, they saw a man crawling out of the building and people quickly rescued him.
He said some of the workers had earlier raised the alarm after spotting a crack and brought it to the attention of others.
“Some workers said they noticed some cracks in the building and asked their co-workers who were in the last building. But they didn’t hear because they were playing loud music.
“After that time the building started shaking, so the ones downstairs ran away.
“The next thing the building started collapsing. We just pray that those injured survive,” the resident stated.
Meanwhile as of the time of filing this report, the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Woke had visited the scene.
The commissioner said that the state government will investigate the cause of the building collapse.
When contacted, Eng Woke said he was in a meeting and asked our correspondent to call back in two hours’ time.
“Okay I am in a meeting with my boss. Please call me back in two hours’ time I will respond to you,” he stated.
Punch
