A four-storey structure under construction along the Peter Odili area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, collapsed on Wednesday, leaving one person dead and several others trapped beneath the debris.
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‎The incident occurred less than 48 hours after another building collapse was recorded in the Rumuolumeni area of the city, heightening concerns over construction safety in the state.
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‎Witnesses at the scene said multiple workers were inside the building when it suddenly gave way. While residents managed to pull some victims from the rubble shortly after the collapse, several others were believed to remain trapped.
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‎One eyewitness recounted seeing a trapped victim crying out for help, repeatedly shouting about injuries to his legs, but rescuers were unable to reach him immediately due to the extent of the damage.
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‎The eyewitness also disclosed that the site’s supervising engineer was among those caught beneath the collapsed structure.
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‎Emergency responders later recovered one body from the rubble as rescue efforts intensified.
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‎Security and rescue agencies, including the police, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the Fire Service, and medical personnel from the Ministry of Health, were deployed to the site to coordinate search and rescue operations.
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‎A carpenter working on the project, Oladimeji Taiwo, claimed that the site engineer had expressed concerns about the stability of the building shortly before the collapse. According to him, visible cracks had appeared on parts of the structure before the incident.
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‎Taiwo, who escaped unharmed after stepping outside the building, said the structure collapsed less than 10 minutes after the warning was reportedly issued. He estimated that between eight and 10 people were inside the building at the time.
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‎He appealed for assistance for affected workers, noting that many had lost personal belongings in the disaster.
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‎As of Wednesday afternoon, three individuals had been rescued alive, while emergency teams continued efforts to locate and evacuate others believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.
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