For several injured workers, Thursday’s collapse of a two-storey hotel under construction opposite the Asaba Airport Police Station in Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, was nothing short of a nightmare.
The structure, which had reached its second floor, gave way just as workers were preparing to install the parapet, trapping some and injuring many others in a terrifying instant.
The incident, which followed days of heavy rainfall, left the injured clinging to life and recounting how they narrowly escaped what could have been a tragedy.
David, one of the workers who survived the collapse, spoke from his hospital bed. “We were just about to fix the parapet when the whole building started shaking,” he recalled.
“Some of us jumped down from the second floor to save our lives. That’s how I hurt my leg. Others were pulled out from under the rubble.”
Several of the injured sustained broken limbs, bruises, and cuts, while a few were unconscious when help arrived.
Emergency responders, along with good Samaritans, worked frantically to dig through the collapsed debris, pulling out trapped victims one after another.
Another injured worker, who did not give his name, said the collapse was like “something out of a movie.”
“There was a loud crack, and before we could figure out what was happening, everything came down. I landed hard after jumping, and now my back hurts badly.”
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A security guard assigned to the site said he narrowly avoided the collapse.
“My room is inside that building. I had just stepped out because the room was cold and damp from the rain. It’s God that saved me,” he said, visibly shaken.
Survivors pointed fingers at the speed of construction, alleging that workers were under intense pressure to meet a tight deadline set by the building’s owner.
“We were working non-stop, even in the rain,” one of the injured workers said.
“They wanted it finished fast, and we had no choice.”
Many of the workers fled the site immediately after the collapse, some out of fear of being held responsible or arrested.
Others were left behind, waiting in pain for help to arrive.
Attempts to reach the Delta State Commissioner for Urban Renewal, Michael Anoka, for a statement were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to his phone remained unanswered as of the time of filing this report.
As rescue efforts continued into the evening, the injured hoped their ordeal would serve as a wake-up call on the importance of construction safety, and the human cost of cutting corners.
