Personnel of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Bauchi State Command, have rescued seven construction workers from the rubble of a partially built structure along Sir Kashim Ibrahim Street in the GRA area of Bauchi.

incident occurred on Monday around 3 pm, prompting an immediate emergency response.

The State Controller of the FFS, DCF Babangida Abba, described the operation as intense and technically demanding.

He explained that a crane was deployed to remove debris and reach the trapped workers.

“We used a crane to dig off the rubbles and rescue the trapped workers,” Abba said, noting that responders worked tirelessly to save the labourers.
The rescued workers were taken to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital for emergency medical care.

“Some of the workers rescued were seriously injured. They were bleeding,” Abba reported. Sources later confirmed that the victims were discharged after receiving treatment.

One of the workers, Abba AbdulKareem, recounted that the building collapsed suddenly while they were preparing to take a short break.

“We were going to break, planning to return and work for about 10 minutes and conclude the day’s work. Suddenly, we realised that part of the building had come down,” he said.

Following an on-site assessment, the General Manager of the Bauchi State Physical Planning and Development Board, Tpl. Ibrahim Mohammed, identified preliminary causes of the collapse.

“We have identified three major causes of the collapse: substandard iron material, unprofessionalism on the part of the project supervisor, and a very poor ratio of the mixture of materials,” he said.

Mohammed added that while there was approval for a structure on the site, modifications may have been made without proper authorisation.

The Deputy Director of the Bauchi State Fire Service, Dauda Pali, confirmed the rescue operation and highlighted the need for adherence to safety standards.

“We received a distress call at around 3pm that a building had collapsed at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Street, GRA, Bauchi.

Rushing to the scene, we confirmed the incident and swiftly began a rescue operation,” he said, urging construction firms to follow regulatory guidelines to prevent future accidents.