By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Six labourers working on a house owned by a former governor of Osun state yesterday escaped death by the whiskers when a section of the building suddenly collapsed at about 1am.
The edifice is located on Plot 444, Citec Villas in Gwarinpa, a major town in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Eye witnesses told Blueprint that six persons had already been pulled out of the rubble while two were still trapped.
While blaming the substandard materials for the collapse, some of the eye witnesses also described the iron rods used for the pillars as wood and the concrete work were said to be as brittle as ordinary sand.
“The NEMA and civil defence people got here around 3am. If not for them, some of these people may have died,” said Ismail Taofeek who said he lives in the neighbourhood.
When our correspondent visited the scene, personnel of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS) were seen on hand to undertake rescue operations.
Operatives were also seen using sniffer dogs and infra-red detectors to ascertain whether there could be more people in the rubble.
It was gathered that except for the prompt intervention of security operatives, the labourers may have died.
Efforts made to speak with the site engineer were not successful as it was learnt that the man was out of the country.
As at the time of filing in this report, bulldozers from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA) were seen pulling down some sections of the building and its perimeter fence.
A ‘Stop Work’ notice, it was learned, would also be issued to the developer.
