Many persons have been reportedly trapped in a collapsed one-storey building in Minna, the Niger State capital.
According to reports, about seven persons were rescued by the the Niger State Emergency Management officials. The agency when contacted raced to the scene on Friday. The survivors were, however, rushed to the Minna General Hospital where they are responding to treatment.
The reported stated that building was located at the popular New Market Area in Minna, the capital of the North-Central State.
At the time of filing this report, the manual evacuation of the debris has commenced. The authorities said machines would be mobilized quickly so that those suspected to be trapped could be rescued.
However, the immediate cause of the building collapse is not yet known as of the time of this report.
The Director, Information and Special Duties of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Hussaini Ibrahim, commended the quick response of the agency. Ibrahim who was at the scene of the incident said the rescue operation is ongoing. He said the debris would quickly be cleared to so as to rescue those suspected to be trapped underneath.
Speaking on the state of the buildings in the market, the General Manager of the Niger State Urban Development Board, Bako Ismail, faulted the builders. He said the building was illegally converted to a story building.
Ismail also claimed that the Board had made repeated attempts to stop the property owner from the illegal conversion. He, however, regretted the collapsed building and its associated casualties.
