State officials in Enugu have demolished a sinking three-storey building located in the Maryland Layout of Enugu South Local Government Area within the Enugu metropolis.
It comes after the ground floor of the building at No 9, Egwuekwe Street, Maryland Layout, suddenly caved-in at about 2 a.m. on Saturday leaving the rest of the building in a dangerous situation.
The State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Greg Nnaji, who briefed newsmen while inspecting the collapsing house, on Sunday expressed sadness over failure of individuals to follow adequate procedures of constructing buildings.
He assured that his ministry would ensure proper investigation of the immediate and remote causes of the building collapse.
“I will advise people living around the affected building to vacate the environment because it is not safe for them until investigation about the cause of the incident is carried out,’’ said Nnaji.
Chairman of Enugu State Capital Territory Development Authority, Joseph Onoh, also said that while investigation is ongoing, the remaining structure would be pulled down for public safety.
Onoh, who came to the scene with earth-moving equipment, said the house would be completely demolished so that nobody would occupy it under any guise to avoid recording human casualty for the state.
However, some residents said they heard a strange sound around 2 a.m. early on Saturday but did not know it was the sound of the sinking ground floor of the building.
At the time of filing this report over 50 per cent of the remaining building had been demolished by the Enugu State Capital Territory Authority.
