Three people who were reportedly trapped in a four-storey building which collapsed in Abuja on Monday night have been rescued.
Witnesses said that the building, attached to Westbrook Hotel, Garki Area 11, collapsed around 9pm.
A resident of Garki, Joseph Habila, said the collapse of the building caused a pandemonium.
He said, “It was God that saved me because I went to a shop near the building to buy some items. Just a few minutes after I left the area, the building collapsed.”
Habila further said security personnel who visited the scene were able to rescue some of the trapped victims, even as he said he could not ascertain the number of those rescued or still trapped in the debris.
Meanwhile, in a statement, FCT Police Command’s spokeswoman, SP Josephine Adeh, on Tuesday, said the police received a distress call of the collapse of a four-storey building at about 9pm, and that upon receiving the call, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Benneth Igweh, led his men to the scene to cordone it off for rescue.
She said three victims were evacuated from the building and taken to the hospital.
She added that, “The personnel of both FCT NEMA and Development Control have taken charge of the area for robust management of the scene.”
Similarly, the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD) said three persons were rescued from the collapsed building by its officials.
In a statement, Nkechi Isa, spokeswoman of FEMD, said the agency upon receiving a distress call activated the Department of Development Control, FCT Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, Julius Berger and NEMA upon arrival at the scene.
She said that the acting Director General of FEMD, Mrs Florence Dawon Wenegieme, who moved to the scene, disclosed that there was no life lost.
Meanwhile, the Director of Development Control, Mr Mukhtar Galadima, who was also at the scene, directed the demolition of the remaining parts of the building and sealing up of the premises.
Mr Galadima said that the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) would be engaged to conduct an integrity test on other buildings within the environment.