Nigerian Guardian
Enugu
September 24, 2013
Nobody expected it. The occupants had gone to bed after
their evening meal.
But at about 10.20 p.m, the unexpected happened. The walls
of the building, which they had occupied in the last four years,
came crumbling.
Unfortunately, while walls were coming down, some of the occupants escaped with severe injuries. However, the only pregnant woman in the building was unlucky as she had herself and her unborn baby buried in the rubble.
The bungalow, located at Ologo, New Site in Enugu North LocalCouncil of the state collapsed on Sunday evening when parts of a hill surrounding the area fell on top of it and other buildings in the compound.
A neigbour who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that the pregnant woman whose name was given as Chinasa Chukwuka was buried by parts of the hill that on her house.
She said she was almost due for delivery, adding that all efforts to unearth the woman alive proved abortive.
“ Her husband, Emeka Chukwuka, became unconscious after sympathizers managed to pull him out of the debris, ” she said.
The owner of the collapsed building, Mr. Joseph Nwoye from Ebonyi State, said he discussed with Mr. Chukwuka before the incident occurred.
He claimed he told the tenants, including the woman’s husband to find another accommodation last week, when he noticed that some stones that fell from the hill had destroyed parts of the house after a heavy rain.
He said the pregnant woman had, prior to the sad development, rejected the alternative accommodation he got for them on the ground that she did not like it.
Weeping profusely, Nwoye stated that the incident happened a few minutes after he had discussions with her husband on the accommodation issue.
“I had only gone to bed after discussing with her husband last night. Shortly after, I heard a loud noise and we came out to discover that the house had collapsed. The pregnant woman died on the spot. My son fainted after the incident. It was raining heavily when it happened. When we ran out, we managed to pull Mr. Emeka Chukwuka out alive. But we could not save his wife because she was heavy with a baby. We were able to clear the rubble to recover her remains”, he sobbed..
He said he built the structure in 2010, adding that other tenants, who he could not specify, including Cyril Jaja, sustained various degrees of injuries.
The incident is the second in less than two weeks in the state. A yet to be occupied three- storey building with a pent house collapsed in the early hours of Saturday, September 14, during a heavy down pour.
The building located on No.16, Nnobi Street, Uwani allegedly belonged to a South African-based businessman, Pascal Ene.
Last week, the state Commissioner for Capital Territory Development, Ike Ugwuegede had told reporters that there was no going back in the demolition of building considered as illegal in the state as part of effort to rid Enugu of illegal structures and save lives.
He insisted that several buildings in the state were erected without appropriate approval, adding that residents hid under certain frivolous reasons to erect structures anyhow.
He urged intending property developers to obtain certification from his office before embarking on any building project and stick to laid-down rules on any property they intended to develop.
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