Two lives have been lost, with seven seriously injured as an eight-storey building under construction in Owerri collapsed on Thursday.
The unfortunate incident happened around 6.30 pm at Yaradua Drive, near the Lords Chosen Church.
Mr Evans Ugoh, Head of NEMA office in Imo, while confirming the incident to newsmen, said that two casualties had so far been recorded, while seven persons had been rescued.
He disclosed that many people were believed to have been trapped under the collapsed building.
According to him, the rescue operation would try their best to ensure that the trapped victims were rescued.
“For now, we are focusing on rescue operation, investigations into the cause of the collapse will be followed immediately.
“We have taken those already rescued to the hospital for medical attention, while further search is still ongoing,” he added.
NAN reports that disaster managers, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Imo counterpart, SEMA and the Red Cross were on ground carrying out rescue operations.
