15 bodies evacuated from collapsed building in Jos
About 15 bodies have been evacuated from a two-storey building that collapsed on Monday evening at the Butcher Lane in Jos North local government area of Plateau State, but the head, Search and Rescue Operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Central Zone, Mallam Nurudeen Musa, told newsmen at the scene that 14 dead bodies were so far evacuated at the end of the exercise, while four persons were injured in the process.
On his part, Head of Rescue Operations of the Red Cross who pleaded anonymity, said he could count 12 dead bodies and rescued seven of which five were minors.
The collapsed building is a personal building of Alhaji Kabiru Nalele, a successful businessman who deals in pharmaceutical products but did not live there. His children and relations live in the building, while he built another two-storey building, which houses his immediate family and Nalele Pharmacy Limited, occupying the ground floor.
Before the fateful day, it was gathered the man and his children visited the building for a survey and noticed cracks on the wall. The Guardian gathered that Alhaji Nalele mobilized labourers to the scene to work on the cracks some of which had started widening because of torrents of rainfall in the state.
On Monday, July 15, he was there again with labourers and as he was inside with the labourers and his family members trying to supervise them, the building suddenly caved in and collapsed on all of them at about 5:00p.m.
It was learnt that passers-by took the initiative of inviting NEMA officials while the Red Cross officials came on their own to the scene.
That same day, the landlord’s daughter, Safiya, who lived in the same building with pur correspondent, coincidentally went to visit the family but met her tragic death.
A pregnant woman simply referred to as Amina, who was also pressed to death in the rubble had her pregnancy terminated as the baby forcefully came out dead.
The crane brought by NEMA spent the night at the scene and was parked there to start evacuation in the morning. But at night, some hoodlums went and stole the crane’s battery. When the operators wanted to begin work yesterday morning, they discovered that its battery had been removed, which delayed the evacuation.
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