Mother, daughter die in Anambra three-storey building collapse

A mother and her 14-year-old daughter have perished following the collapse of a three-storey building that was still under construction in Anata Anaba, Okpoko, situated within the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The catastrophic event took place at approximately 9:45 pm on Wednesday evening, resulting in the entrapment of the mother and daughter within their residential apartment located in an adjacent bungalow.

According to witnesses present at the scene, the building emitted a loud sound, with its structural walls exhibiting visible cracks prior to the complete structural failure and subsequent collapse, which caused considerable alarm among the residential community.

Additional individuals who were trapped beneath the debris were successfully extracted by emergency personnel and subsequently transported to medical facilities for treatment, as reported by local residents.

“The woman and her daughter were in their apartment in a nearby bungalow when the three-storey building collapsed and trapped them. Before the building caved in, it made a loud noise as the walls started making cracking noises before falling one after the other.

“Some other people who were also trapped in the rubble were later rescued and rushed to the hospital by an emergency response team that mobilised to the scene to evacuate victims,” an eyewitness said

Some residents said they had raised concerns about the construction, arguing that the waterlogged nature of the land made it unsuitable for a three-storey building.

The engineer responsible for the project's initial phase reportedly recommended that the builder restrict construction to two floors due to soil conditions; however, this guidance was disregarded.

Subsequently, the residents indicated that an additional engineer was retained to oversee the project's expansion to three stories.

The structural failure resulted in the deaths of the adjacent bungalow's proprietor and her youngest offspring.

Chimobi, identified as the woman's son, reported that three family members occupied the apartment at the time of the building's collapse.

“I was outside at the time of the incident. But my mother and my sister were in the bedroom when the building collapsed directly on them, leaving them with no opportunity to escape.

“It’s unfortunate. We had earlier warned the builder about the danger posed by the structure and we were joined by other residents in calling for the construction to be stopped, but our concerns were not heeded,” he lamented.

Confirming the incident on Thursday, the Anambra State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, described it as unfortunate.

Ojukwu visited the scene alongside the member representing Ogbaru One Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Noble Igwe.

The commissioner blamed the collapse on the use of substandard materials and said the authorities had previously issued a stop-work notice on the building.

“The structure was an illegal building and we had ordered its demolition and the land is going to be forfeited to the state government. We are investigating other unapproved buildings under construction in the area.

“It collapsed under the weight of negligence and poor-quality construction. It fell over and killed the residents of a neighbouring bungalow, a woman and her child,” Ojukwu added.

In September, one person was killed while two others were rescued after a two-storey building undergoing manual demolition collapsed in the Aboru area of Lagos State.

The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed that the incident occurred at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the Alpha Eagle Response Team of the agency was immediately dispatched to the scene after receiving a distress call