An appendage of a two-storey hotel has collapsed in the Ada-George area of Port Harcourt, leaving four injured persons. The casualties were taken to a hospital.
It gathered that the two-storey building belonging to 1708 Hotel, Rumuoke by Okilton Junction, off Ada George, collapsed at about 6.15 am on Thursday.
The incident occurred when some residents of the area were asleep, and occupants of the building, mainly site workers, were getting ready to resume for the day’s work.
Works commissioner Emeka Woke, while inspecting the level of damage and causal effect of the incident, said the Rivers government would take every measure to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the collapse.
“Early this morning, the governor, Siminialaye Fubara, was informed about this building collapse, and he directed that I immediately visit the site on his behalf and assess the extent of damage and report back to him,” stated Mr Woke. “Having seen the building, the first thing we did was carry out a personnel audit and from available records, no life was lost, but we have been told that four persons sustained some injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.”
The commissioner added that the governor also directed that the premises of the collapsed building be sealed off pending investigation.
Isa Aghaebne, an engineer handling the integrity test on the collapsed building, said a structural integrity test would commence on Friday.
He noted that the collapse could be due to foundation failure or failure of the structure itself.
“We can’t ascertain now until we have concluded an integrity test which is expected to last for about two weeks,” he said.
The collapsed structure was part of an expansion of an existing building.
(NAN)
