At least five persons working at a construction site are said to be trapped under a three-story building which collapsed recently in the Umumbi Autonomous Community in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State.
Witnesses say that the building collapsed on Friday afternoon while the workers were inside.
Fortunately, three carpenters who were working on the roof managed to survive the collapse.
The three workers plastering the ground floor at the time of the incident were trapped under the rubble.
Two blood brothers who had recently arrived at the construction site to commence work were among the trapped individuals.
Sadly, less than 8 hours after their arrival, they found themselves trapped under the collapsed building, the eyewitnesses revealed.
The owner of the building is said to be out of the country, leaving his siblings in charge of supervising the project.
A building expert, Engr. Chinedu Okwara, suggested that the collapse may have been caused by the use of substandard materials and the owner’s failure to hire a qualified and certified building engineer.
Confirming the collapse, the chairman of Ukwa West Local Government Area, Newman Azu, said he was already at the site with his team and that arrangements were being made to bring heavy-duty equipment to the scene for excavation.
The goal, he said, was to begin the rescue operation as quickly as possible and free those trapped in the rubble.