Two artisans were on Wednesday killed, while four others were seriously injured when the fence of an adjoining building collapsed on them at the Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja.
The men, said to be working on a building which was still at foundation level, encroached on the fence of an adjoining building, part of which collapsed on them.
Confirming the incident in a telephone chat, Director General of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, said the injured had been taken to the hospital.
He said: “Between 10a.m. and 11a.m., we received a distress call that there was a building collapse in Wuse 2 and we had to draft our rescue team to quickly go there.
“On getting there, they discovered that it was a wall that fell on the artisans working around the area.
“So far, six people were removed from the rubbles and two were fatally injured, while four are in the hospital at the moment. Two people died.
“The cause is that the developer encroached into another building, that is, the UBA building and the wall fell on them.”
On measures to avert such incidents in future, Idriss said that it was not a case of using substandard materials, but that his agency will work with others to continue sensitising the public.
“The best we can do is to continue to sensitise the people and engage other relevant stakeholders who give approvals, monitor developments and so on,” he stated