How I survived death at Ebonyi building collapse – Labourer

A labourer, Nkwegu Shadrach, has narrated why he was not affected by the building collapse that occurred on Tuesday evening in the  Abakaliki metropolis of Ebonyi State.

The three-storey building located within the premises of the Alex Ekwueme  Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki I, Ebonyi State,  collapsed when some construction workers were working inside it.

The building, which collapsed to the foundation level, is owned by the member representing Afikpo North/East State Constituency in the Ebonyi  House of Assembly, Hon. Ukie Ezeali.

The construction workers who were inside the building when the disaster occurred included a mason man, Celestine Arua and a physically challenged labourer, Egwu Ogbonnia.

The two workers were trapped inside the building and were rescued after some hours through an operation led by officials of the state Ministry of Capital Territory, Ministry of Works and security agencies.

According Metro reports the rescued labourers are currently hospitalised at the Accident and  Emergency Unit of the AE-FUTHA II and were responding to treatment when our correspondent visited them on Wednesday afternoon.

Nkwegu, who supplied mixed concrete to the two workers inside the building, thanked God for saving him and the two workers.

He said, “I was there when the thing happened. It was the last bucket of the mixed concrete that I was trying to carry. When I turned back, I saw the building collapse.

“I was not affected but two persons were affected, the mason man and another worker who is deaf and dumb.

“It was only the mason man and the deaf and dumb worker who were inside the building when it collapsed. I was outside the building trying to  carry mixed concrete to meet the mason man when the building collapsed.”

Meanwhile, the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria has described the incident as a huge disaster.

The council alleged that the materials used for the building were substandard wondering why people erecting structures should not comply with building guidelines.

The Zonal Coordinator of the council, Nwekete Chinasa-Jonathan, while speaking to journalists at the scene, also alleged that the mixtures of materials for the building were not good in addition to the poor workmanship.

“We have experienced poor workmanship here and some of the materials were not standard. Substandard materials were used, and the mixture was not too wonderful,” he said.

The  Commissioner for Capital Territory, Development Authority, Sunday  Inyima, corroborated the council, adding that two persons had been arrested over the incident.

He observed,  “Two arrests have been made, people who are directly or indirectly attached to the building and that is the truth. We have told the owner of the building to please make himself available for explanations.

The police are already investigating the matter while professional bodies are also investigating it.”