Four Rescued as Another Building Collapses in Abuja

Four people have been rescued after a section of a two-storey residential apartment collapsed in Abuja yesterday morning, with several people trapped in the rubble.

This comes less than 24 hours after a school building collapsed on pupils in Plateau State, killing 22 and injuring 132 persons.

It is also eleven days after another building collapsed at Unity House, Area 11, Garki, in Abuja.

The collapsed building is located beside Cupid Hotel, Sultan Dansuki Road, Phase 2, Site 2, Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD) was notified of the incident by passers-by and also received a distress call on the 112 emergency toll-free number at about 6.45 am.

Two of the rescued victims have been taken to the Kubwa General Hospital.

But hours after search and rescue efforts, FEMD said no other person was trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building.

“Having reached ground zero of the parts of the building which collapsed this morning in Kubwa, the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), has called off rescue operations at the incident scene,” the agency said.

“Announcing the cessation of rescue operations, the Ag Director General of FEMD Mrs. Florence Dawon Wenegieme informed that the decision followed the removal of the rubble of the collapsed building and the discovery that no other person was trapped in the rubble.”

The collapsed building, which contained 45 self-contained rooms, was previously used as a hotel before it was converted for residential purposes.

The Acting. Director General of FEMD, Florence Wenegieme, appealed to developers to follow strictly the building code and avoid the use of substandard materials.