A section of a two-story hotel in the Ada-George area of Port Harcourt has collapsed, resulting in injuries to four individuals who are currently undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
At about 6.15 am on Thursday, the two-storey building belonging to 1708 Hotel in Rumuoke, near Okilton Junction off Ada George, collapsed, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria.
At the time of the incident, which occurred during the early hours of the morning, many residents in the area were still asleep. The building’s occupants, consisting primarily of site workers, were getting ready to commence their daily work.
During the inspection of the damage and the underlying causes of the incident, Mr. Emeka Woke, the Commissioner for Works in Rivers State, highlighted the government’s commitment to thoroughly investigate and uncover both the immediate and remote causes of the collapse.
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Woke said: ‘Early this 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 persons sustained some injuries and taken to the hospital for treatment,’ he added.
The commissioner also highlighted that the governor had directed the immediate closure and sealing off of the premises of the collapsed building until a thorough investigation is completed.
However, he made it clear that rescue operations were currently in progress at the site, primarily aiming to evacuate the debris.
According to Mr. Isa Aghaebne, the engineer in charge of conducting the integrity test on the collapsed building, a thorough examination of the structural integrity will begin on Friday. However, he noted the possibility that the collapse might be attributed to either foundation failure or failure of the structure itself.
‘We can’t ascertain now until we have concluded an integrity test which is expected to last for about two weeks,’ he said.
According to the gathered information, the collapsed building was being added as an expansion to an existing structure.