Building collapse in Nigeria capital kills 14

Rescue efforts are continuing in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, after a condemned building collapsed, killing at least 14 people.

The building, said to be three to five storeys high, fell down on Wednesday in the Garki district. Locals said around 50 people had been squatting inside.

Officials said people had been told the structure was unsound, but that they had ignored the warning to vacate it.

But survivors insisted they had not been aware of the risk of collapse.

The frequent use of substandard materials and violation of building regulations mean building collapses are relatively common in Nigeria.

Federal Capital Territory Minister Bala Mohammed said Wednesday's collapse was the third in the city since he took office three months ago.
Additional floor

Mr Mohammed, who is responsible for development in Abuja, said the developers of the building in Garki had continued to build an additional floor despite being told by the authorities that the structure was unsafe.
An injured man is taken away in an ambulance after the building collapse in Abuja (12 August 2010) At least 12 people have so far been pulled out from the rubble alive

"We had issued a warning that the place should be evacuated. Most of the people there are illegal and the developer did not heed the warnings," he told the Reuters news agency while visiting the site on Wednesday.

Hussaini Abubakar, a student who was living in the building, said he had just finished praying at dawn and was preparing to begin fasting on the first day of Ramadan when the building began to shake.

"The building started coming down. I just picked up my phone, one shirt and jumped down from the second floor," he told Reuters.

It took less than five minutes for the building to collapse.

Vivian Rogunwa, whose sister and four-year-old nephew were among those killed, rejected the government's assertion that residents had been told of the danger, saying "there was nothing like that".

"The building did not give anybody any sign that it was going to fall," she told the AFP news agency.

At least 12 people have so far been pulled out from the rubble alive. Rescuers said the operation had been hampered by a lack of equipment.

Lord help us

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Posted: at 13-08-2010 12:20 PM (13 years ago) | Addicted Hero

true talk my sis

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Posted: at 13-08-2010 12:30 PM (13 years ago) | Addicted Hero

hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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Posted: at 13-08-2010 01:54 PM (13 years ago) | Upcoming

May God deliver this Country from the hand of the wick. And may those who have refuse this country to progress never see good in their life. No emergency management, No fire service, No Drugs in the hospital and no good roads,  and yet our budget is trillion.

Posted: at 13-08-2010 05:27 PM (13 years ago) | Hero

. Let's see how it goes,but I'm hoping they are right,the spate of killings of the igbos in the North has has dampened my enthusiasm for the unity of this fake country.

Posted: at 19-01-2012 12:05 AM (12 years ago) | Gistmaniac

 

Posted: at 21-07-2012 10:14 PM (11 years ago) | Addicted Hero

 

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Posted: at 27-08-2012 01:09 PM (11 years ago) | Addicted Hero