No less than four persons were injured on Friday nite following the collapse of a portion of a two-storey building at No 18 Club Road, Old Port Harcourt Township, Rivers State. The state government has directed the tenants to vacate the property immediately.
The incident took place at around 7 pm when the parapet at second story of the building, which is thought to be over 60 years old, cracked and fell on the ground floor where people had gathered in a pub.
“It was a sudden collapse,” one eyewitness who asked not to be identified said. People were drinking and having a good time in the bar on the ground floor, then all of a sudden the parapet of the building ripped away and crashed down’, the witness stated.
Nobody expected that sort of event and thus there was bewilderment. “Approximately three or four people were injured, especially one lady who was injured on portions of her head and one of her ears”.
The incident did not result in any fatality.
The witness, who stated he was over 50 years old and had known the building since he was a child, asked if it had ever been refurbished. I knew this building from my childhood. “It is more than 60 years old and you can see that the structure is getting weak,” he remarked.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Amairigha Edward Hart, went to the scene on Saturday after the fall and ordered the occupants to leave the building due to safety concerns.
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The decision was confirmed by the Ministry’s Press Secretary, Isabella Ibim. The Commissioner visited the location on Saturday and asked the residents to leave the building. “He also warned people not to stay in such old buildings because they are very dangerous to lives,” Ibim said.
Ibim said that the commissioner was relieved that no life was lost and noted that only a portion of the structure had collapsed. She said the ministry had been conducting sensitisation efforts and identifying old buildings for rehabilitation in Mile 1, Mile 2 and Mile 3 sections of Diobu, Borikiri and other parts of the state.
The building concerned was cordoned off with red tape and the residents were told to move out on Saturday.
A visit to the scene on Sunday showed that the rubble had been swept away but that apparent evidence of the fall remained.
The event and the number of injured victims were confirmed by Blessing Agabe, spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, who said an inquiry had been initiated.
Four people were hurt and sent to a hospital. The area has been sealed off and an inquiry is under way,” Agabe said.
The commissioner said the ministry has commenced a proactive examination of ancient buildings starting from Diobu and moving to other parts of Port Harcourt. The activity is to identify structures that have become redundant and to urge restoration if buildings are not fully failed.
Teams from the National Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Fire Service, the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital Emergency Service Unit were at the scene with officials of the ministry.
Within the week further structural investigations will be carried out to determine whether the building should be recommended for extensive rehabilitation or demolition.
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