Mother, child crushed in their sleep in Anambra as building collapses

A woman and her 14-year-old daughter have lost their lives following the collapse of a three-storey building under construction in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident occurred at about 9:45 pm on Wednesday at Anata Anaba in Okpoko, when the unapproved structure caved in and crushed an adjacent bungalow where the victims were sleeping.

Residents who mobilized themselves to the scene managed to pull several other trapped residents out of the building, transferring them to a hospital for medical attention.

They disclosed that the developer was repeatedly warned about the soil condition of the building before the collapse but ignored the warning.

The Anambra State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, stated that the disaster was caused due to structural negligence and the use of substandard materials.

“The structure was an illegal building and we had ordered its demolition, and the land is going to be forfeited to the state government…It collapsed under the weight of negligence and poor-quality construction”. Ojukwu said.

The commissioner, who inspected the site alongside the lawmaker representing Ogbaru One Constituency, Noble Igwe, stated that the state government has commenced an investigation into other unapproved structures in the area to prevent further occurrences.