One dies, two injured in Edo building collapse this Morning

According to Punch....Tragedy struck on Saturday when a portion of a three-storey building, which is under construction ‎on Sapele road, in Benin, the Edo State capital, collapsed, killing one person and injuring three others.

It was gathered that ‎the incident occurred at about 10.30am.

Punch correspondent learnt that the victims were pouring concrete on a cantilever projection on the third floor, when the formwork caved in.

It was learnt that they were hired by a contractor to do the two-day job at N3,000 per day.

Our correspondent gathered that the deceased, identified as Mike, sustained a deep cut in the chest, when he and his colleagues fell from the third floor to the ground.

‎He was said to have been rushed to the Central Hospital in Benin, where he was confirmed dead.

One the victims and a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Benin, Sunday Oniuvusa, said he was lucky to have survived.

He said, “We were just casting the floor and, all of a sudden, it just collapsed and most of the blocks on the building fell on us.

“The boy who died was working with us. Some of the blocks that fell prevented the planks on the ground from harming us; I was lucky. But in the boy’s case, there was nothing to project him so one of the planks pierced his chest.‎”

The sub-contractor and supervisor, Morris Omoregie‎, who said the formwork had been prepared by a different contractor, said the remains of the deceased had been deposited in a mortuary, while those injured were still receiving treatment.

“I’m directly involved because I lost someone. I called them to place the concrete and their formwork collapsed. ‎The formwork was supposed to hold everything until 21 days. They are my persons, so I am the one handling the medical bills so far.”

Efforts by the Punch correspondent to reach the state Rapid Response Agency and the spokesperson for the state police command were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.