4 siblings die in Enugu building collapse

Four children of the same family have been confirmed dead in a building collapse in the Mgbemena area of Coal Camp in Enugu State.

The Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Agency (ECTDA), Uche Anya, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said the bungalow building located at the Agric Quarters in the Coal Camp area collapsed at about 8 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2023, after a downpour.

Anya said the structure was approved for animal husbandry but was converted for residential.

While lamenting that the collapsed building was not healthy for human residence, the ECTDA chairman revealed that the structure had 44 rooms with about 200 residents.

He said: “As soon as we got the intelligence, we rushed to the place. Four children died in the episode.

“It was danger waiting to happen. The construction was irresponsible.

“The place should never have been occupied by human beings.

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“Apparently, they claim that they are doing animal husbandry and poultry there but it turned out that there are 44 rooms that human beings are occupying and there must have a population of over 200 people there.

“The fence line was totally unacceptable, nobody does that, and unfortunately, the people we lost in that tragedy are innocent children and it is very painful.”

Anya said the ECTDA would continue to sensitise the people of Enugu State on the need to live a more conducive environment to avoid future occurrence of the incident.

The ECTDA boss stressed that the compliance unit of the agency under his leadership would ensure that structures erected by landlords and contractors adhere strictly to the approval plan.

Anya also gave immediate quit notice to residents of the building and four other buildings close to the scene of the incident.

The Star