The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN) has sympathised with the Imo State government on the recent collapse of six storey building under construction in which many lives were lost.

The collapsed building, according to sources, was proposed to be an  hotel complex on the highbrow Musa Yar Adua Drive in Owerri.

But in a press release by its president, Engr. Ali Rabiu, the Council said it was quite unfortunate considering the huge loss of human and material resources while adding that it is working to have a database of all engineering activities across the country through its various State Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Committees.

“COREN, as the statutory agency of the Federal Government responsible for the regulation and control of engineering practice in Nigeria, feels highly embarrassed by the collapse, considering the number of qualified Engineering practitioners the Council has licensed to practise in Nigeria”, Rabiu stated.

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He explained that the Council had activated the Imo State Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Committee to immediately take up the matter of the collapse and that the Committee, led by the Vice President of COREN, Engr. Vernatius Igiri, had since visited the site of the collapse for an on-the-spot assessment and also interacted with the representatives of other relevant professional bodies.

According to him, “the Committee also took pictures from the rubbles and collected samples of materials for engineering testing and analysis”.

The COREN boss thereafter assured the people of Imo State that it would undertake a full scale investigation into the root cause of the collapse and that since it is within its purview, it would ensure that any engineering practitioner or individual found to be culpable is dealt with including possible prosecution.