A prompt investigation into the collapse of a two-story structure at Rumuoke Street, near Okilton junction along Ada George Road, Port Harcourt, has been ordered by Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers State.
Remember that four people were hurt early on Thursday morning when a two-story structure that was being constructed fell.
The state administration must determine the immediate and underlying reasons of the tragedy, according to Fubara, who made the statement through his media assistant Boniface Onyedi.
Following the examination of the two-story structure that had collapsed, the governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Projects, Engr. Emeka Woke, instructed the pertinent government agencies to find everybody connected to the project right away.
According to him, anyone found culpable will be made to face the law.
The statement reads, “The Ministry of Urban Development is to take immediate action by conducting site investigations and site inspections
“The destructive testing and non-destructive testing of collapsed structural elements to establish their strength by the determination of the yield strength of the reinforcements and sieve analysis of the soil at the site, to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the building collapse.
“If there is any compromise by those involved in the project, they will be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.”
While sympathising with the four injured men whom he visited at the hospital, the doctors treating them also assured him that they would be discharged in a few days as they were already in stable condition.
He said the government had urgently mobilised earth-moving equipment to the site to evacuate the debris of the collapsed building while the site has been cordoned off.