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Tag: building collapse

  • Abuja building collapse: Wike orders arrest of landlord, victims count losses

    Abuja building collapse: Wike orders arrest of landlord, victims count losses

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike has, ordered the arrest of the owner of the two-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday night at Lagos Street, Garki Village, Abuja.

    The FCT Emergency Management Agency (FCT FEMA) said in a statement that two victims have died, while 37 others were evacuated and taken to the hospital.

    Wike, who gave the order when he visited the scene of the incident on Thursday, also asked the Permanent Secretary, FCT Administration, Mr Adesola Olusade, to pay the medical bills of those hospitalised.

    The minister also urged the Department of Development Control, FCTA, to urgently resettle the residents of the community.

    He urged stakeholders to work with government officials for the interest of everyone.

    “This is what we are talking about; people just built houses without due diligence to minimum standards.

    “This is why cities are planned – forestall this kind of incidents.

    “I sympathise with those who lost their lives while the medical bills of those in the hospitals will be paid immediately,” he said.

    Earlier, the Director, Development Control, Mr Mukhtar Galadima, had explained that the area was unplanned and houses an indigenous community.

    Galadima said that the two-storey building was multipurpose and was for both residential and commercial use.

    The permanent secretary commended security agencies and some contractors who came out in their numbers to render support in evacuating the rubbles and search for more victims.

    Also, the Director-General, FCT FEMA, Dr Idriss Abass, said that relevant agencies had been on ground since the occurrence of the incident, to rescue the victims.

    Abass said that efforts were still ongoing “to ensure that no one is left under the rubbles”.

    Meanwhile, some of the victims, who spoke with NAN said that they lost their investments and properties to the incident, and called for government support.

    One of them, Ms Glory Perekeme, who operates a restaurant and a bar at the building, said she lost about N5 million as she could not take anything from her restaurant.

    “I closed for business around 10:00 p.m. and was on my way home when I received a call that the building had collapsed and my investment gone.

    “I am still in shock; and I don’t even know where to start from.

    “I really need assistance. Government should come to our aid so we can start all over again,” she said.

    Another victim, Mrs Ann Anyi, who owned a laundry and sells shoes, said that she lost everything to the incident.

    “I have been crying since I got the news of the incident in the midnight.

    “I am just hoping that when the rescue operation is over, I will be able to salvage something from the rubbles,” she said.

  • Many trapped as building collapses in Abuja [VIDEO]

    Many trapped as building collapses in Abuja [VIDEO]

    A multi-storey building located at the Lagos Street in Garki village area of Garki II district in Abuja, has reportedly collapse, amidst heavy rainfall last night.

    Confirming the incidence, a former aide to the immediate past Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Ikharo Attach, said on his Facebook page that thirty seven person have been rescued and taken to the hospital, while others are still trapped.

    He wrote: ‘’So far 37 persons have so far been evacuated to Hospital, Two ‘Fatally injured’. Others reportedly still trapped

    Rescue team and others are on ground.

    Rescue operations on but slowly due to ongoing rain.

    They are making frantic efforts at getting an excavator to remove people from the rubble”

    The affected building is said to have housed many apartments while the ground floor was full of shops.

    See video below:

     

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  • [Photo] Just in: 4-storey building collapses on occupant in Abuja

    [Photo] Just in: 4-storey building collapses on occupant in Abuja

    More than 20 persons have reportedly been trapped in a collapsed 4-storey building  of a hotel owned by Summit Villa hotel services, located in Dape Life camp Abuja.

    Eyewitness accounts say the hotel with an underground has trapped more than 20 persons.

    See Photos below:

     

  • SAD: 13-storey building housing holidaymakers collapses

    SAD: 13-storey building housing holidaymakers collapses

    A thirteen-storey building housing holidaymakers has collapsed in Egypt, leaving numerous people buried under its rubble.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the building collapse occurred in Sidi Bishr district, in the northern city of Alexandria, Egypt on Monday.

    The exact number of people trapped beneath the rubble is unknown and officials are yet to provide an official count of casualties, according to Daily Mail.

    However, it was gathered that rescue teams are searching the site, trying to clear away the debris to locate and rescue survivors.

    According to a police report seen by local media outlets, the building collapse was due to a ‘vertical split’ in the structural integrity of the building.

    Nearby hospitals have been on high alert and prepared for the arrival of potential victims, reports suggest.

    According to Daily News Egypt, the building is used to house holidaymakers during the summer months.

  • Lagos moves to curb menace of building collapse

    Lagos moves to curb menace of building collapse

    Mr Funsho Elulade, General Manager of Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL) on Wednesday said a new law was on the way to make substandard construction impossible in the State.

    Elulade said this at the fourth  Edition of the Builders’ Business Workshop organised by the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) in Ikeja.

    The combined physical/virtual workshop had the theme:  “Building Surveying Practice, Charting a New Course in Building Post Construction Services in Lagos”.

    He said his agency was currently under pressure for mass testing of buildings because its sister agency had recommended hundreds of defective buildings for demolition.

    He said adherence to material quality and abiding by other ethical principles of construction could avert collapse, adding that the new law to force compliance would soon be enacted.

    He called for collaboration with NIOB in order to chart a new way forward, adding that accurate data was important for holistic solutions.

    Elulade said the workshop was timely to address the current embarrassing crisis of buildings collapses across the state.

    “I have revised the law that set up the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory and I pray it is accented to by the governor.

    “We have pushed it to  completion stage, before it goes to the exco,  before exco pushes it to  the House of Assembly.

    “In the future, it is going to be extremely difficult for a prospective seller or developer to sell any property or rent any property to any individual in Lagos,  if that developer or the landlord does not have a None Destructive Test Report.

    “And I think we should incorporate the two , we can synergise, it must be mandatory that for you to sell a house or to rent your house to anybody, you must have that building survey, in addition to the none destructive test result,” he said.

    He said building survey was also benefitial  for prospective buyers or tenants who would be able to assess the condition of a property before taking action.

    He reeled out conditions for charting a new course in Lagos state  to include using the right materials and professionals during construction, adding that, wholistic approach was important to address all issues.

    Mr Fola Tinubu, Managing Director – Primero Transport Services Ltd. said people were already afraid of buying high rise buildings in Lagos state because of collapse.

    He urged the NIOB to boost investors’ confidence by chasing out “the cow boys” painting them in bad light from the profession.

    Citing the 21-storey Ikoyi building collapse as an example, he urged built environment professionals to cry out early against illegalities on site to save end users.

    He said the built environment professionals who withdrew from the project spoke up after it had collapsed.

    Earlier, the special guest, Mr Adetunji Adeniran, Registrar/Secretary,  Council of the Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) said only the government had power for prosecution and must use it for deterrence.

    He made reference to various panel reports and recommendations not being implemented by government.

    Adeniran stressed the need for professionalism to eradicate quackery while reeling out relevant laws which must be enforced for sustainable development.

    He also reeled  out efforts of CORBON both locally and globally for better practice guidelines for building surveys.

    Earlier, while giving his welcome address, chairman, Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Lucky Isename said the workshop was to build capacity and new direction.

    He said local and global experts were invited “to clinically x-ray practice and procedures for building surveying.”

  • Concerns mount as Lagos records fourth building collapse in 2023

    Concerns mount as Lagos records fourth building collapse in 2023

    On Sunday 23rd April, Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria, recorded its fourth building collapse in four months, as it continues to rank top among states with incidents of a partial or full building collapse.

    The Lagos State Government in a swift response on Sunday announced that the three-floor building still under construction on Ladipo Oluwole Street, Apapa area of the state had partially collapsed because the developers ignored several warnings to stop work.

    A Deputy Director of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mukaila Sanusi, said preliminary enquiries showed that the Agency had “issued a number of contravention notices, stop work and seal up orders which the developer ignored and carried on construction without any recourse, whatsoever, to the authorities”.

    According to the official, the building had a Provisional Development Permit for two floors but construction was at third-floor roof level when the incident occurred.

    The incident comes barely a week after a seven-storey building under construction collapsed on First Avenue, in the Banana Island area of Ikoyi, Lagos State, killing at least one.

    In January, a one-storey building in Ikeja and an abandoned two-storey building on Olokodana Street, in Okokomaiko area of Lagos State also collapsed.

    Building collapse which has now become a recurring phenomenon in the state, often resulting in the loss of lives and money, calls for urgent measures to address the spate.

    Last year, 20 out of 62 building collapses recorded in the country, occurred in Lagos state and the immediate past President of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Eddy Atumonyogo, 23 states had incidents of a partial or full collapse of buildings.

    “The guild still has a lot of work to do in persuading the various governments to collaborate with it in monitoring construction activities to ensure best practices as well as enlighten the investing public on the need to engage competent hands,” Atumonyogo said.

    A Professional builder, Didi Onyiyeyone, told this newspaper that some of the main natural causes of building collapse are: building on the wrong soil, poor foundation, errors in structural design and non-adherence to specifications given by experts.

    Others are the use of inferior and expired building materials, illegal conversion of existing structures and the proliferation of quacks in the industry.

    “In Nigeria, it is illegal to commence construction works without approved drawings from the approving authorities.

    “So, when developers bypass the appropriate bodies for approval or fail to comply with the dictates of the provisional development permit, the result is a shoddy, unvetted construction which can easily lead to building collapse,” he explained.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) notes that there are no laws in Nigeria making it compulsory for individuals or building developers to seek the services of certified professionals for building construction.

    Consequently, professional bodies are unable to fulfill oversight functions, paving the way for unqualified or unskilled builders to oversee construction projects in the country.

    LASBCA has a vision to ensure that buildings in Lagos State are designed, constructed and maintained to high standards of safety so as to avoid loss of lives and properties through its building regulatory system.

    However, a former president of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Moses Ogunleye, said the agency does not have enough human resources to implement or enforce regulations vis- a- vis the volume of construction taking place in the state.

    “The government should consider outsourcing some functions to reputable groups of professionals particularly that of monitoring and stage certification.

    “This will among others speed up the issuance of Certificate of Fitness for Habitation and make the agency more efficient,” Ogunleye said.

  • Banana Island: Brokers condemn builders’ negligence

    Banana Island: Brokers condemn builders’ negligence

    The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on Thursday expressed regret over the collapse of a seven-storey building at Banana Island in Lagos State.

    The seven-storey building, under construction at Banana Island, Ikoyi, collapsed on Wednesday at about 5:00p.m., while concreting was ongoing on the sixth floor.

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in a statement, said no death was recorded, but workers were trapped in the building and a reponse team had been mobilised to search for those trapped  in the building.

    Mr Rotimi Edu, President of NCRIB, also in a statement made available in Lagos, described the incident as a case of negligence by the building experts who undertook the construction.

    “Though, no casualty was reported, the collapse brings to questioning the continuous recalcitrance of building contractors to adhere to extant regulatory prescriptions concerning public buildings in the country,” Edu said.

    According to him, the sensitivity of public buildings necessitates the need for builders and owners to imbibe insurance policies.

    He listed such policies as the Public Liability, Contractors All Risk (CAR) and other prescription of Sections 64 & 65 of the Insurance Act, with regards to public buildings.

    The NCRIB president said if these insurance policies have been in place, the risk of total loss incurred by the owners of the collapsed buildings would have been greatly reduced.

    Edu called on the Lagos State Government to expedite investigation on the cause of the building collapse.

    He also advised the state government to urgently apprise the public with the result of the findings and actions to be taken, to avert future building infractions in the state.

    Recalled that a similar incident of collapse of a high-rise block of flats, under construction at Ikoyi in Lagos, occurred in Nov. 2021.

    The incident which recorded loss of lives attracted public condemnation.

  • UPDATE: 22 rescued, 2 dead in Abuja building collapse

    UPDATE: 22 rescued, 2 dead in Abuja building collapse

    The FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says no fewer than 22 persons have so far been rescued in the ongoing efforts to evacuate those trapped in a building which collapsed in Gwarinpa, Abuja.

    The agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mrs Nkechi Isa, made the disclosure in a statement, Thursday in Abuja.

    Mrs Isa also revealed that two persons trapped in the building collapse had died.

    She said a combined team of FEMA, NEMA, FRSC, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the department of Development Control, Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency, and Red Cross were at the scene to rescue the remaining people trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building.

    She said that some construction companies with heavy duty equipment were also part of the rescue efforts.

    “No fewer than 22 persons have so far been rescued, two are confirmed dead. The victims have been taken to Wuse, Gwarimpa, Asokoro district hospitals and the Federal medical center. The search for survivors is ongoing.

    “The two-storey building with a basement collapsed this morning trapping an unidentified number of workers,” she said.

  • BREAKING: Rescue efforts ongoing as building collapses in Abuja

    BREAKING: Rescue efforts ongoing as building collapses in Abuja

    Four people have been rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building on Thursday in Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja.

    Mr Kenneth Chigelu, Head, Public Relations, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    According to him, the structure, a  commercial building belonging to a private developer, is situated along 6th Avenue.

    “As at the time of collapse, the building was a frame structure with columns, suspended slabs in place, and some block works.

    “Preliminary findings revealed that an approval for two floors was granted to the developer who decided to add an extra floor to the structure.

    “Rescue efforts are currently going on to save lives, with responses from all relevant agencies. A total of four people have been rescued from the rubble at the time of this release,” Chigelu said.

    The FHA spokesperson said ongoing investigations would reveal immediate and remote causes of the collapse.

    The Gwarimpa Estate is a developed district, situated in Phase 3, in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja. It is the largest single housing estate in Nigeria and in West Africa.

    The mega housing estate consists of some of the most elegant architectural designs with good network of roads and expensive houses.

  • SAD: Two siblings die in building collapse in Kano

    SAD: Two siblings die in building collapse in Kano

    A collapsing one-storey building killed two siblings aged 15 years and 11 years in Kano on Friday. Their eldest sibling aged 17 years, was rescued alive, however.

    Spokesman of the Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Saminu Abdullahi, stated on Saturday in Kano that the house was located at Kofar Mata Hauren Gadagi area of Kano.

    “We received a distress call at about 10:50 p.m. from one Jamilu Salisu-Zango that the 50 feet x 40 feet structure used as dwelling house collapsed from the top floor.

    “We sent our rescue team to the scene and the three siblings were brought out of the debris. Two of them were unconscious,’’ he stated.

    Abdullahi added that the victims were rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Special Hospital for medical attention where doctors confirmed two of the siblings dead.

    The corpses were handed over to the police at Kofar Wambai Police Station, while investigation into the accident went underway, he stated.