Three apprentice tilers die as a Nigerian shopping complex under construction collapses on them at night
An unfinished shopping complex with two floors above ground level came down at about 11 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Owode-Ede, Osun State, Nigeria, killing three apprentice tilers who were sleeping on site. Five others were pulled out alive, four of them badly hurt, the Federal Fire Service said.
The apprentices were spending the night in the building so they could get back to work early, The Telegraph Nigeria reported. Their supervisor was not on site, said Femi Isaac, the Federal Fire Service's commandant in Osun. Isaac said the workers had noticed signs of structural weakness, and the senior apprentice in the group told rescuers that, just before the collapse, he had urged the others to stay off the upper floor for the night.
Fire service spokesperson Ojo Omoyemi Olamide said preliminary findings point to structural defects and substandard materials. The building had six shops on each upper level and two storerooms at street level, Tribune Online reported. Federal and state fire crews, police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps searched the rubble until 9:26 a.m. on Oct. 31.
The survivors were taken to Idera Specialist Hospital in Ede. Isaac said some have broken legs and hands, and one person who had not yet gone to sleep escaped unhurt. Residents told The Telegraph the owner lives beside the site and was there during the rescue. The fire service put the property loss at N100 million and urged owners and builders to follow approved building regulations.
Why it matters: The crew had seen the structure weakening and still slept inside, with no supervisor there to stop them. Any job that lets workers stay on site needs someone with clear authority to clear the building as soon as cracks or movement show.
Sources
- Three killed, four injured as shopping complex collapses in OsunThe Telegraph Nigeria, Oct 31
- Osun: Three dead, five rescued as two-storey shopping complex collapsesTribune Online, Oct 31