PHOTOS: Woman, corps member rescued from Abuja building collapse

A woman and a National Youth Service Corps member, who were trapped in the Abuja collapsed building, have been rescued alive from the rubble.

Daily Trust reports that a section of two storey building located along the Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki Way, Phase 2, Site 2, in Kubwa, Abuja, collapsed around 6 am on Saturday.

The building, formerly known as Halal hotel, was converted to a hospital, and lately used as a residential apartment, with about 45 self-contained rooms.

The last rescued victim identified as a corps member was brought out from the rubble unconsciously by the combined rescued officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), FCT Emergency Management Department (FEM), FCT Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, and the Nigeria Police Force.

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The corps member was rushed to the Kubwa General Hospital in an ambulance. It was learnt that two victims, Abdullahi Masud, and his guest, a female, had been taken to the hospital after they escaped from the building before it collapsed.

He was seen by our reporter at the hospital along with the guest at the emergency section of the hospital where they were being attended to.

A security guard attached to the building, Ibrahim Bitrus, had earlier told Daily Trust that about 15 residents were able to escape from the building, before it collapsed.

Also speaking about the incident, Masud said one of his neighbours had earlier drawn his attention to a cracked wall, close to the stair case in the building.

“I later noticed an unfamiliar sound from several parts of the building while I was taking my bath in the morning. I managed to run out naked.

“I learnt that other people were able to escape too, leaving only one lady stranded at the time. It was while in the hospital that my girlfriend was brought too.”

The Acting Director General of FEMD, Mrs. Florence Dawon Wenegieme, who was at the scene of the incident, said that the search and rescue effort would continue until responders reached ground zero.

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