8 injured in Ibadan building collapse

Eight persons were seriously injured yesterday in a building collapse that occurred at an ongoing construction at Jericho area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The workers, all males, according to New Telegraph, were rushed to the Jericho Specialist Hospital for treatment while many other workers at the site were protesting and asking the Site Enginner handling the construction to pay their money for the day.

Although they refused to reveal the identity of the engineer, the workers claimed that he had abandoned them at the site.

According to one of the victims who spoke to Telegraph at the hospital, Seyi Olugbade (a labourer), there were 10 affected persons, saying they had the inkling of the collapse but the engineer just wanted the job to done at all costs.

He said this was the reason they were pressured to continue to work until the deck of the first floor caved in.

While expressing pains in his right leg, Seyi, in his late 40s, told New Telegraph that “the collapse occurred at some minutes after 3 pm.

We had the signal that the building could collapse but because the work must go on, we continued until the deck came down. The Site Engineer had a premonition of the collapse, that is the reason he left us because he was with us on top of the deck.

“Before some of us went to eat, we had noticed that the brace underneath had caved in. The Engineer also knew and so he made arrangements and the plank below was mended. However, it turned out that the mended plank could not carry the weight of the load on it”, he submitted while writhing in pains.

Another victim, Ahmed Abiodun, however, said “the collapse was so sudden they were caught unawares.

“We all came down with debris and that is why some of us wounded sustained these varied injuries,” he said.

Officials of the Oyo State Physical Planning and Urban Development visited the scene and immediately pasted “Stop Work” sign at the gate and walls of the building.