From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Two people have been confirmed dead following a building collapse in Oraifite community, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The deceased, according to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), were carpenters working in the site.
Sources said the building caved in when the builders were trying to correct an error they discovered on the second floor of the building under construction. They said that the building collapsed, killing two of the workers at the site.
A source said: “Two people lost their lives in the building collapse in Ibolo, Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“The deceased were said to be working at the two storey facility when the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday. The engineer in charge had instructed the workers to remove the second floor which was not properly constructed. It was in the course of the removal that the building caved in.”
Chairman of COREN in the state, Victor Meju, in a statement, said that he had, alongside the members of the State Technical Committee of the Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Inspectorate, Anambra State, visited the site of the collapsed twin two storey buildings.
“The structure collapsed at about 17:55Hours of 22/09/2022. The building, which is still under construction, commenced two years ago. The committee, while in the course of their preliminary and visual site seeing, noted unprofessional practices which are against Engineering Codes and Standards in the country and beyond.
“Samples of concrete, rods, blocks and other aggregates from the site have been collected for proper laboratory tests to ascertain their strengths. The State Technical Committee of the Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Inspectorate and the Anambra State Physical Planning Board has since sealed the site,” he said.