Six-Month Old Baby Survive Nigerian Building Collapse, Mother Killed

In what has been described as a miracle in Nigeria, a six-month-old baby was brought alive when a building collapsed in Obosi near Onitsha, one of the commercial centre of the country located in the South Eastern part of Nigeria. The tragedy occurred on Sunday.

In a statement, police spokesperson Haruna Mohammed said the mother died while many others sustained injuries. Mohammed said the incident occurred in the afternoon and the cause was still unclear.

He added that rescue missions were ongoing to save other victims suspected to have been trapped inside the building.

“The scene was visited and cordoned off by the police attached to Obosi Division and other security agencies in order to prevent hoodlums from gaining advantage to loot.

“One person, a woman of about 40 years old, whose name is yet to be ascertained, was confirmed dead by a medical doctor and her baby is responding to treatment.

“The case is under investigation to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident,” Mohammed said.

According to a report by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, there were 43 building collapse incidents in Nigeria in 2019.

The report added that the country’s biggest city, Lagos, saw the highest number of incidents, with 17 cases, just under 40% of the year’s total. The next highest was Anambra State, with six collapsed buildings.

The BBC reported that some of the collapses are caused by weak foundations and counterfeit material.

”Even when workers are given the right materials to make the concrete, they might mix them incorrectly. This results in concrete which is not of the sufficient strength to hold the load,” professor of civil engineering Anthony Ede was quoted saying.

Business Day Nigeria reported that the Nigerian Institute of The building has urged the government to use professional builders to supervise building constructions in the state to avert further accidents.

This comes after a building collapsed in Abia State last week Wednesday, killing five people.

This brings the total number of collapsed buildings to five in 2020.