2-storey commercial complex collapses in Gwarinpa Abuja

A two-storey commercial complex under construction in Gwarinpa District of the FCT, collapsed on Thursday, trapping scores of people.

Confirming the incident, Mukhtar Galadima, Director, Development Control, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), said that rescue operation was ongoing with combined team of several agencies.

According to him, about seven persons were rescued and taken to hospital.

He said that while no fatality had been confirmed, several workers were still trapped under the rubble of the ill-fated building.

Also, the Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, said that while the council would not apportion blames to anybody yet, investigation would commence immediately to ascertain both the remote and immediate causes of the collapse.

According to an eye witness, John Edwin, the workers on site, especially laborers conveying blocks to the top, were over 40.

He claimed to have lived in the area for many years, and that he had always known the place to be a reserved Green Area.

Edwin urged relevant authorities to call the management of Federal Housing Authority to question, for illegally allocating Green Areas for commercial purposes.