One killed, others feared trapped as hotel building collapses in Enugu

At least one person was confirmed dead in Enugu State on Sunday after a four-storey hotel building under construction partially collapsed.

The incident, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, occurred at about 5 a.m. at the Independence Layout area.

Apart from the deceased victim, some other people were feared trapped in the rubble.

Speaking with reporters at the scene, Uche Anya, the chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Agency (ECTDA), said four people trapped in the rubble were rescued. In contrast, one other person died in the incident.

“This property collapsed in the early hours of the morning. We arrived here around 6 a.m. When we arrived, we met one of the securitymen, who said that six people were sleeping in the unfinished property, but one of them was not around when the incident occurred.

“So, the government emergency services arrived, and we started rescue operations. Four people, right now, are in the hospital receiving treatment as we speak,” he said.

Mr Anya, a lawyer, said the property owner secured approval to build the structure in 2021.

The chairman, however, said the ECDTA recently sealed the facility after the developer failed to comply with building codes.

“When I led the team that inspected here, we found out that there were serious integrity issues and non-compliance with their 2021 approval.

“I issued the first ‘stop work order,’ which, due to the violation, resulted in our sealing the place over the last six months.

“So, I think within the last 30 to 40 days, the representative of the owner, whom they say lives abroad, has been interfacing with us to remedy the situation,” he recalled.

“This is the process that we are still trying to interface on, and it came down.”

Representative arrested

Mr Anya said he had handed the representative over to the police in Enugu State to assist in the ongoing investigation into the incident

“I have handed the representative to the police, not necessarily for detention, but to help with the investigation. But this is really a very unfortunate situation,” he said.

Fire chief speaks

Also speaking to reporters, the Director of the Enugu State Fire Service, Okwudiri Oha, praised officials of various agencies who assisted in the rescue operation.

“As a rescue officer, what we did was to ask the security man how many people were here. He said that there were supposed to be six. One person had left before it happened.

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“So, we were able at that initial time to rescue four persons. Out of the four, two sustained minor injuries and they were all rushed to a health facility for proper checks,” Mr Oha said.

The Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ezeani Nnanyelugo, confirmed the number of victims and noted that the situation could have been worse if not for the state government’s earlier sealing of the site.

On her part, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Authority, Chinasa Mbah, said that while only five persons were reportedly present at the time of the incident, the entire wreckage would be cut through and excavated to ensure that no one was left behind.

“We are going to excavate everything because you can see the machines that the government brought. We will excavate everything to ensure no survivor or body is left,” she said.