Anambra: Building collapse kills mother, teen daughter

A woman and her 14-year-old daughter have lost their lives after a three-storey building under construction collapsed at Anata Anaba, Okpoko, in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident occurred at about 9:45 pm on Wednesday, trapping the mother and her daughter inside their apartment in a neighbouring bungalow.

Eyewitnesses said the building made a loud noise, with its walls reportedly cracking before the structure came crashing down, throwing residents into panic.

Some other people trapped in the rubble were rescued by emergency responders and taken to hospital, according to residents.

“The woman and her daughter were in their apartment in a nearby bungalow when the three-storey building collapsed and trapped them. Before the building caved in, it made a loud noise as the walls started making cracking noises before falling one after the other.

“Some other people who were also trapped in the rubble were later rescued and rushed to the hospital by an emergency response team that mobilised to the scene to evacuate victims,” an eyewitness at the scene said.

Some residents said they had raised concerns about the construction, arguing that the waterlogged nature of the land made it unsuitable for a three-storey building.

They claimed that the engineer who initially handled the project had advised the builder to limit the structure to two floors because of the ground conditions, but the recommendation was ignored.

According to the residents, another engineer was later engaged to continue the project to three storeys.

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The collapse killed the landlady of the neighbouring bungalow and her youngest child.

The woman’s son, identified as Chimobi, said three members of the family were in the apartment when the building came down.

“I was outside at the time of the incident. But my mother and my sister were in the bedroom when the building collapsed directly on them, leaving them with no opportunity to escape.

“It’s unfortunate. We had earlier warned the builder about the danger posed by the structure, and we were joined by other residents in calling for the construction to be stopped, but our concerns were not heeded,” he lamented.

Confirming the incident on Thursday, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, described it as unfortunate.

Ojukwu visited the scene alongside the member representing Ogbaru 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Noble Igwe.

The commissioner blamed the collapse on the use of substandard materials and said the authorities had previously issued a stop-work notice on the building.

“The structure was an illegal building, and we had ordered its demolition, and the land is going to be forfeited to the state government. We are investigating other unapproved buildings under construction in the area.

“It collapsed under the weight of negligence and poor-quality construction. It fell over and killed the residents of a neighbouring bungalow, a woman and her child,” Ojukwu added.