No fewer than two persons who were trapped under the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Kubwa on Friday have been confirmed dead by authorities.
The incident, which reportedly occurred around 11: 25:pm yesterday, was said to have been caused by serious alterations of the building plan.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the building owner had changed a residential structure into a multipurpose structure without using the structure’s foundation.
It was further gathered that, the second level was home to apartments with three and two bedrooms, respectively, while the ground floor was occupied by businesses.
Though authorities are yet to give a situation report, eye witnesses say four persons were pulled out from the rubble alive, while two persons who were trapped unfortunately died.
Rescue operations at the scene of the incident as a combine team from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, FCT Fire Service, Nigerian Police, and the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, were on ground trying to rescue the trapped victims.
One of the residents, Mrs Chinyere Okah, who spoke with reporters, confirmed that the building, which was being converted from a shopping mall to a residential apartment, collapsed on Thursday night at about 10:30 p.m.
The Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alhaji Abbas Idriss, confirmed that two persons lost their lives in the incident, while the trapped persons had been rescued.
Abbas explained that the agency received a distress call about the incident at 11.45 pm on Thursday evening and thereafter activated its stakeholders to the scene.
He revealed that five persons were rescued and taken to Kubwa District Hospital, noting that two of the patients had since been discharged.