05 Jun 2012
Governor Adams Oshiomhole
A three-storey building housing the state-owned Central Hospital, which
is under construction, Monday collapsed, trapping two persons in the
rubbles in Benin-City, Edo State.
But the state government said the collapsed building occurred as a
result of the fact that one of the cranes collided with a freshly
constructed beam, affecting a section of the multi-storey structure.
Five other members of staff of the construction firm, NCI Construction
Company, who were also said to have sustained varying degrees of
injuries, were immediately rushed to hospital’s accident and emergency
ward for medical attention.
The collapsed building, according to investigation, was the new
accident and emergency ward of the hospital, which formed part of the
massive re-construction of the hospital embarked on by the state
government.
The Central Hospital, Benin-City was built in 1902 by the colonial government in Nigeria.
Although sources claimed the collapse may have been due to structural
defect, the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Philip
Shuaibu, told journalists Monday that the collapse was caused by a crane
which was lifting building materials to the top floor but unfortunately
impacted on the building.
Initial rescue operation at the scene of the incident
occurred few minutes after the incident was slow and haphazard, as there was no equipment to carry out the operation.
occurred few minutes after the incident was slow and haphazard, as there was no equipment to carry out the operation.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr.
Louis Odion, in a statement, said: “A slight mishap occurred today at
the construction site of the new Central Hospital complex, Benin City,
as one of the cranes collided with a freshly constructed beam, affecting
a section of the multi-storey structure.
Out of seven workers trapped in the rubbles, six had been rescued as at
press time, while relief workers were working frantically to free the
last man, an expatriate. The ongoing building construction, which is
being undertaken by Sincies Chimentin Limited, an Italian firm, is part
of an infrastructural renewal programme initiated by the Adams
Oshiomhole administration to upgrade the hospital constructed originally
in 1903.”
SOURCE: ThisDay, 5 June 2012. http://www.thisdaylive.com
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