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Two persons die, one injured in Abuja landslide

by Sunday Olatunji -

Two people have reportedly died in a landslide that occurred in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The incident, which happened at about 4pm on Tuesday at Plot 3333, Mississippi Street, AO6 District, Maitama, also left one other person critically injured.
When newsmen got to the scene, it was discovered that the construction work is still at foundation level, although the site is gully-like.
An eye-witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the journalists that construction workers were on site when the walk-way caved in and three persons were buried in the rubble.
“They are trying to build a restraining wall and in the process, the walk-way collapsed. The approval for the site was given to Simag Construction Company by the Development Control, an arm of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA),” he said.
He said the site engineer has been arrested and currently under police custody.
Although It was gathered that the site has approval, the plot is said to be one of the plots currently under probe by the Senate.
The FCT Fire Service acting Comptroller, Mr Julius Opetunsin, who confirmed the incident, told journalists that his men moved to the site immediately the office received the distress call.
“About few minutes after 4pm yesterday evening, there was a call from the emergency call centre, so one of our officers in charge of Search and Rescue department of FEMA, informing him that there was a collapse building at Mississippi Street, Maitama. Imeediately he contacted me, I turned out an emergency tender from the headquarters here to the scene of the incident,” he said.
Opetunsin said though before his team got to the scene, one person was rescued, two persons were still trapped in the rubble at that moment.
“When the excavator was working, the central sewage system got broken in the process and we started the rescue operation by rescuing one person, although dead. It was around after 8pm in the night we were able to recover the last victim and the two were deposited at the Maitama General Hospital,” he said.

Sunday Olatunji
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93. Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism. He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002. Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013). He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers. He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 - 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 - 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor. Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye - DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography - AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
http://newstide247.com
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