A four-storey building under construction has collapsed in Enugu, leaving one person dead and three others rescued from the rubble.
The building collapsed on Sunday along Ogbaru Street/Alvan Ikokwu Street in the Independence Layout area of Enugu State.
Rescue workers were still using excavators at the scene to search for possible survivors and determine whether more people were trapped beneath the debris.
An official involved in the rescue operation told Vanguard that the actual number of people affected remained unknown, saying the initial figures were obtained from a third-party source.
The official said preliminary findings indicated that structural defects could have contributed to the collapse.
He disclosed that the building had earlier been sealed by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, after an inspection uncovered serious defects in its structural design.
He said the inspection particularly identified faulty column distribution and poor connections between some columns and the foundation.
“We found out that the column distributions were faulty,” the official said, explaining that some columns had been introduced on beams without proper rooting or anchorage to the foundation.
He also identified poor material mixing and other construction deficiencies as concerns observed at the site.
The official expressed concern that construction-related activities appeared to have continued despite the earlier sealing of the building.
According to him, authorities were initially unable to establish that substantial construction work had resumed because the activities observed at the site appeared to be mainly the installation of air-conditioning ducts and pipes.
He said excavation and investigation were continuing to establish the full circumstances of the collapse and ensure that no other persons remained trapped under the rubble.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the ECTDA Chairman, Uche Anya, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls seeking his comment.
The collapse has renewed concerns over compliance with building regulations and the enforcement of construction standards in Enugu State.
