
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.