Ganduje Sympathises with Victims of Collapsed Building

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

A three-storey building under construction collapsed in Beirut road GSM market in Kano metropolis. People were trapped when the building went down at about 3.25 pm yesterday. Eyewitnesses said many people were feared trapped in the rubble.

They said some of the persons inside the building when it caved in could not be rescued because of the weight of the broken blocks and sand.

Four people were first rescued  but residents  lamented  the late arrival of the rescue operations team.

THISDAY, who  visited the scene and gathered that the building collapsed under stalls located at the market. An eyewitness explained that his friend was  among the trapped victims.

The eyewitness who could not control his tears said: “My friend’s phone rang and he answered saying he was suffocating.”

Also, a member of the rescue team who got to the scene early, said an excavator was  on ground to boost rescue efforts.

The Public Relations Officer of Kano State Fire Service Saminu Yusuf said many have been rescued and taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Kano state government has suspended the swearing-in ceremony of commissioners-designate earlier scheduled for  today in honour of victims trapped in collapsed building collapse.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, the governor, while sympathising with the victims, ordered an intensified rescue operations to get to those trapped in the rubble.

While lamenting the unfortunate incident, he assured  all that investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the collapsed structure which was under construction.

The statement also shared the sad moment with the victims of Monday’s flooding that occurred in many parts of the metropolis, during which valuable items were lost in the deluge.