In the Ada-George neighbourhood of Port Harcourt, a two-storey hotel’s annex collapsed, leaving four injured people who are now receiving medical attention in hospitals.
According to the information gathered, the two-story building belonging to the 1708 Hotel, Rumuoke by Okilton Junction, off Ada George, collapsed at about 6.15 a.m. on Thursday.
The incident happened as some locals—mostly construction workers—were preparing to go back to work for the day and other locals—some of whom were still asleep—were preparing to enter the building.
While assessing the extent of the incident’s damage and its causes, Emeka Woke, the Rivers State Commissioner for Works, declared that the government would use every available tool to identify both the immediate and more remote causes of the collapse.
“Early this (Friday) morning, the governor, Siminialaye Fubara, was informed about this building collapse, and he directed that I immediately visit the site on his behalf and assess the extent of damage and report back to him.
“Having seen the building, the first thing we did was carry out a personnel audit, and from available records, no life was lost, but we have been told that four people sustained some injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment,” he said.
According to the commissioner, the governor also ordered that the area around the collapsed building in Port Harcourt be sealed off while an investigation is conducted.
He did, however, point out that there were still rescue efforts being made there, primarily to clear the rubble.
The structural integrity test on the collapsed building will start on Friday, according to Mr. Isa Aghaebne, the engineer in charge of it.
However, he pointed out that the collapse might have been caused by the structure’s own failure or by the collapse of the foundation.
“We will not know until we finish an integrity test, which is expected to take about two weeks,” he said.