By Desire Emmanuel
Five persons were on Saturday, May 16, confirmed dead while at least 11 others were injured after a three-storey building under construction collapsed in Abuja’s Gudu District.
Emergency response teams are making frantic efforts to rescue those trapped under the rubble as of the time of writing this report on Saturday night while the injured victims were rushed to hospitals in the area.
According to reports, the structure, located behind Gudu Market, went down around 8:30 a.m. when construction workers began work on site.
Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Federal Emergency Management Department (FEMD), Nkechi Isa, said search and rescue operations were still ongoing at the scene.
“Search and rescue operations are ongoing as emergency responders make efforts to rescue more persons trapped in the rubble of the collapsed three-storey building at the Gudu District in the FCT,” she said.
Isa stated that 11 persons had so far been rescued from the debris. “The 11 rescued victims have been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, Asokoro District Hospital and Maitama Hospital for treatment.”
Emergency response teams at the scene of the collapse included the National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Fire Service Fire Service, FCT Police Command, Nigerian Army and Federal Road Safety Corps.
Also confirming the incident, media aide to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, said” “At least five persons have been confirmed dead while 11 others were rescued after a three-storey building under construction collapsed in the Durumi 3 area, near Gudu Market, Abuja, on Saturday morning.”
He added that the Mandate Secretary of the FCTA Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe,, was at the scene and stated that the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, had directed that all the injured victims be given free medical treatment.
