Abuja building collapse: 9 evacuated, rescue operations suspended

The Federal Fire Service says rescue operations at the site of the collapsed four-storey building at Dape in Life Camp, Abuja, will resume on Tuesday at 8.a.m.

Mr Emeribe David, a Superintendent of Fire, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the scene of the disaster, that all the agencies involved agreed to resume the rescue operation on Tuesday morning.

NAN reports that the building, which was said to be a hotel under construction, collapsed around 4 p.m. on Monday, trapping undisclosed number of labourers.

David, who led the team of firemen to the site, said that the fire service received a distress call around 4.pm and reached the site about 15 minutes later.

He said that his team joined other agencies in the operations to save the lives of the people trapped in the wreckage.

He identified some of the agencies as the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps, National Emergency Management Agency and security agencies, among others.

“Immediately the Fire Service received the call, we were deployed to the scene with a fire truck and ambulance crew to see what we can salvage.

“We do not know the number of people that were trapped, but we will figure that out when we continue the operations in the morning,” he said.

Earlier, the Director-General of FEMA, Dr Abass Idris, told journalists that nine persons have so far been rescued as at 7:44 p.m.

A NAN correspondent who was at the scene reports that the agencies involved in the operation closed the site around 10 p.m., while security officials were drafted to guard the area.