By Aliyu DANLADI
A four-storey building under construction has collapsed at Owelle-Aja layout, Obosi in Idemili North local government Area of Anambra with no casualty reported.
The structure, located off Tony Eze Street, was said to have collapsed around 7.30a.m on Monday.
TBI Africa gathered that workers at the site had yet to resume work when the incident occurred.
A resident of the area, who preferred anonymity, alleged that the building was originally designed as a two-storey building before the owner decided to add two more floors.
The source also claimed that there were cracks on the walls of the building before the collapse.
Another resident, Mrs Obiageli Okaforuzu, said the building had been under construction for many years.
“We thank God that nobody died in the mishap; it would have been a different scene by now,” she said.
In his reaction, the Chairman, Landlords Association of the area, Chief Chuka Chukwudebelu, expressed regret over the incident and appealed to the state government to mobilise excavators to the site.
“I don’t think anyone was trapped since the workers had not come to work by the time it happened,” he said.
Similarly, the state Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Mr Joachim Ulasi, expressed concern over people’s failure to obtain building approvals before embarking on projects.
Ulasi blamed the collapse on the use of substandard materials.
He wondered why people preferred to patronise quacks in spite of several warnings by professional bodies and the government.
