A terrible building collapse shook the Nigerian capital, Abuja in the early hours of Saturday, after a three-storey structure under construction collapsed, killing at least five people and injuring others.
The tragedy, which happened in the busy Gudu Market at approximately 3:30 a.m., caused panic and led to a massive emergency response as rescue teams waded through the piles of concrete and iron rods to locate survivors that were thought to be trapped under the debris.
The authorities said that most of the victims were labourers working on the building at the time when the building suddenly collapsed.
The spokesperson of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD), Nkechi Isah, confirmed the incident, adding that 16 persons have been rescued thus far.
She said 11 of them were rescued and brought to different hospitals in Abuja such as the Federal Medical Centre, Asokoro District Hospital and Maitama Hospital for immediate medical care.
Five other victims were confirmed dead in the disaster, however.
She said search and rescue operations were ongoing as emergency responders are in hard battle to rescue more people who were trapped in the rubble of a collapsed three-storey building in Gudu District in FCT.
The structure is under construction and found behind the Gudu Market, fell at about 3.30am today, according to FEMD Search and Rescue team, which has rescued a total of 16 persons so far.
Multiple emergency and security agencies were deployed to the scene, said She, adding that efforts were being stepped up to rescue the victim.
The agencies involved in the operation include the FEMD, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Fire Service, the FCT Fire Service and the FCT Police Command.
The catastrophe of Friday has again highlighted issues relating to building safety standards, safety regulatory enforcement and compliance with construction guidelines in the Federal Capital Territory and other major cities in the country.
In the last few years, there have been several reported building collapses in Nigeria across the country, which have been attributed to structural problems, inadequate supervision, poor material quality, and the omission of the approved construction specifications.
Sad relatives, residents and sympathisers stood around the scene as rescue work stretched into the late afternoon, hoping that more bodies would be extricated from the rubble.
As a result, the authorities are likely to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse with pressure on regulatory authorities to step up their monitoring of construction sites and prevent further tragedies.
