Tragedy struck on Wednesday morning when a five-storey building under construction collapsed along Odili Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, leaving one person dead and several others trapped beneath the rubble.
As of 7:30pm, rescue operations were still ongoing, with victims, including the site engineer and a woman who sold food to construction workers, believed to be trapped in the debris.
Rescue workers said they could still hear the food vendor calling for help from beneath the rubble as efforts intensified to reach her.
The incident occurred barely three days after a three-storey building collapsed in the Iwofe area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, although no casualties were recorded in that case.
The deceased victim was reportedly struck on the head by a falling pillar. He was pulled out of the rubble lifeless, drawing tears from residents and passers-by who witnessed the recovery of his body.
Officials of the Rivers State Emergency Medical Services rescued four victims and rushed them to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital for treatment.
However, relatives of the deceased, said to be from northern Nigeria, reportedly resisted efforts by government officials to take the body to a mortuary, insisting they would bury him themselves.
