Another building collapse kills two, injures 17 in Akwa Ibom

Barely nine days after Reigners Church Building collapsed in Uyo and 31 persons lost their lives, Akwa Ibom State was yesterday hit by another tragedy as the popular Urua Edereobo Market in Ikot Akpatek of Onna Local Council collapsed.

The incident, according to an eyewitness account, claimed two lives, while 17 persons sustained various degrees of injuries. The victims have been moved to Immanuel General Hospital, Eket, for medical attention, while the two casualties were immediately evacuated from the area.

The incident happened in Governor Udom Emmanuel’s local council as some parts of the 60-year-old market was renovated three years ago.

When contacted, the state Commissioner for Works, Ephraim Inyangeyen, who led an emergency rescue team to the scene of the incident, denied that a life was lost to the incident.

Confirming the death of the two women, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Murtala Mani, said an old wall collapsed on the women, describing it as unfortunate.

Meanwhile, worried by the alarming rate of collapse structures in the country, the ‎Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has called on the state government to ensure the domestication of the 1992 Urban and Regional Planning Law.

The Acting Chairman of the institute, Dr. Beulah Ofem, made the call yesterday in reaction to the Reigners Bible Church collapse on December 10.