37 Rescued, 2 dead, in Collapsed Two-Storey Building In Abuja As FCT Minister ordered Arrest of Owner.
TEC News!
Aside the 37 people rescued from the rubbles by the emergency officials, 2 other people have been confirmed dead.
A former aide to the immediate past Minister of the FCT, Ikharo Attah, in a statement on his official social media handle, disclosed that 37 people have been rescued alive from the collapsed building .
According to the statement, “Two-storey Plaza collapsed in Abuja at Lagos Street, Garki village Area of Garki District.
“So far, 37 persons have so far been evacuated to Hospital, Two ‘Fatally injured’. Others reportedly still trapped
“Rescue team and others are on ground. Rescue operations on but slowly due to ongoing rain. They are making frantic efforts at getting an excavator to remove people from the rubble.”
TEC News correspondent reported that an excavator was later engaged to aid the rescue effort of the emergency team which work was initially slow but the arrival of the excavator increase the speed of the rescue effort.
It was also reported that the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike was at the site of the incident to witness the situation and in his speech ordered the identification and arrest of the owner of the building and promised to ensure that the hospital bills of affected persons are paid by the Government. Wike said;
“I will appeal to the Permanent Secretary to make sure that funds are raised to pay the hospital bills of those who were rescued so that we do not lose more persons and this should be done immediately…. When Government says we should take building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall this kind of occurrences. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we must identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important”.