A three-story building has collapsed in Iriebe community in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday while construction was on the third floor.
Preliminary findings indicated that the building was being erected in a waterlogged area while materials used for the construction were substandard.
Our reporter learnt that the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Chijioke Ihunwo, had visited the site of the building collapse and ordered immediate closure of the site.
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Ihunwo expressed sadness over the loss and directed the owner of the property to report to his office on Wednesday alongside his site engineer for questioning.
Ihunwo said, “The collapse is quite unfortunate and as a local government, we have closed down this site with immediate effect and instructed the owner of the building to furnish us with the necessary building approval from the ministry of Urban development. For now, we cannot ascertain if someone is under the rubble.”
Ihunwo also decried the quality of materials used in the construction.
He said, “You can see for yourself the kind of materials used for this project and that is why we are inviting the owner of the building for interrogation so that he can tell us why he is using substandard materials for this kind of building.”
The Obio-Akpor Council Chairman in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ofonime Okon, disclosed plans to work with the state Ministry of Urban Development to ascertain if the ministry actually approved the building plan.
One of the eyewitnesses, who gave his name as Victor, said the sound of the collapsed building was like a bomb blast which caused panic in the area.
