Seven persons have been injured following the collapse of a two-storey building under construction in Jikwoyi, within the Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The incident, which occurred at about 11:00 a.m. on Friday, involved construction workers who were on site at the time of the collapse.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Public Affairs of the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), Nkechi Isa, rescue operations were immediately activated to ensure that no victims remained trapped beneath the rubble.
FEMD’s Search and Rescue Team reported that 17 workers were on the upper floor of the building when it gave way. Five of the workers sustained injuries, while a male at the ground level was trapped but later rescued.
“All the injured workers, including the rescued victim, have been taken to the Sisters of Nativity Hospital in Jikwoyi and are responding to treatment,” the emergency team said.
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Emergency responders at the scene include personnel from FEMD, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Department of Development Control, the Engineering Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Federal Fire Service, and the FCT Police Command.
FEMD noted that excavation at the site was ongoing to ground level to ensure that no one remained trapped.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a fire outbreak affected a section of a car sales and service centre along the Kubwa Expressway in the Bwari Area Council.
The fire, which broke out at about 12:00 noon at the Car Earloha Chery Centre near Arab Junction in Kubwa, caused significant damage to property, but no casualties were recorded.
According to FEMD Head of Search and Rescue, Monday Adie, the staff of the centre attempted to contain the fire using extinguishers but were unsuccessful.
They, however, managed to move vehicles out of the premises to minimise losses.
A section of the building within the complex was destroyed, while equipment and documents were also lost in the blaze, he disclosed.
Authorities attributed the cause of the fire to an electrical fault.
Emergency response teams, including FEMD, the Federal Fire Service, the FCT Fire Service, and the FCT Police Command, were present at the scene.
