From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Three persons were feared dead yesterday as the multi-purpose sports hall at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Delta State, collapsed.
The two-storey building is under construction in preparation for the 21st National Sports Festival (NSF) to be hosted by the state from November 28.
Among the casualties were suspected workers at the site of the collapsed structure.
Although the cause of the collapse has not be ascertained, it would be recalled that an over head water tank and score board had collapsed separately in the past.
A team of journalists who stormed the site of the latest incident early enough were manhandled by boys on the orders of the chairman, Delta State Sports Commission, Tonobok Okowa, who doubles as co-chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the festival tagged Asaba 2022.
However, the state government said nobody died in the incident, but that one person sustained minor injury and has since been treated.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Charles Aniagwu in a live video at the venue, said the incident was caused by misalignment of the crane by its operator which led to the heavy duty equipment crashing on the wall in one of the floors.
Aniagwu debunked insinuations in some quarters that the collapse was as a result of substandard materials, adding that other workers have since returned to site.