A two-storey building which housed several occupants has collapsed in the Ifo Nike Area of Enugu State. This triggered fear that some residents may be trapped.
The incident occurred about 9pm on Sunday but started caving 10 minutes earlier. That gave occupants the opportunity to evacuate the building before it finally collapsed. But the whereabouts of a woman is still unknown.
An online newspaper, Newexpress, quoted an eyewitness, Dr Fredrick Ilo, that the incident occurred around 9pm at night after occupants of the building said they heard cracks in the building and rushed out of the house.
The report said many people came out alive but they are yet to ascertain if anyone was trapped in the building.
He said: “Around 9pm on Sunday an occupant of the two-storey building came to me and started knocking. They told me that they are hearing cracking sounds from the building.
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“We started shouting that everybody should come out. Some of them started running out. After ten minutes, the entire building collapsed. All of them are in my compound.
“They did not bring out any property. I don’t think anyone is there. There are six families in the building. What I noticed in that area is that developers did not give room for drainage.
“The place is usually flooded. If it is possible for the government to intervene and ensure that there is proper drainage in that area.”
Another resident said, “We are expecting SEMA to come with payloader so we can start excavating. We have also made arrangements for our own excavator.
“A woman said she has not seen one of her visitors but it has not been confirmed that anyone is trapped.
“The woman said she has called the family of the lady who came to visit her and they said the lady has not come back. She did not raise this alarm until now, everybody is surprised that she is saying it now. All the people that came out of the building are staying with neighbours around.”
Rescue operations had since started as officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were mobilized to the site on Monday.
