Four Rescued, One Feared Dead as Uncompleted Building Collapses in Enugu

ENUGU — Four people were rescued alive after an uncompleted building collapsed in Enugu in the early hours of Sunday, as emergency teams mounted a large-scale operation to recover what officials believe is the final victim trapped beneath the rubble.

The structure, located within the Enugu metropolis, caved in before dawn, prompting a swift response from the Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Enugu State Fire Service, police, the Red Cross and other emergency agencies.

Speaking at the scene, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Agency (ECTDA), Barr. Uche Anya, said six people had been sleeping inside the uncompleted building when the incident occurred. According to him, one person had left the premises before the collapse, leaving five occupants inside.

Anya said rescue teams arrived at about 6 a.m. and successfully pulled four survivors from the wreckage, all of whom were taken to hospital for treatment. He added that emergency workers continued searching for the remaining occupant, prompting the deployment of excavators and other heavy equipment.

The ECTDA chairman revealed that the building had been approved in 2021 but had been under regulatory sanctions for months after inspectors discovered serious structural integrity concerns and significant deviations from its approved design.

He said the agency had issued a stop-work order and sealed the site approximately six months ago due to non-compliance with building regulations. Discussions with representatives of the property owner, who reportedly resides abroad, were still ongoing to address the violations when the building collapsed.

As part of the investigation, Anya confirmed that the owner’s local representative had been handed over to the police to assist authorities in determining the circumstances surrounding the disaster.

The Director of the Enugu State Fire Service, Engr. Okwudiri Oha, praised the coordinated response of emergency agencies, saying the rapid mobilization of bulldozers, excavators and rescue personnel was crucial in saving lives. He disclosed that two of the rescued victims suffered only minor injuries, while all four were transported to medical facilities for further evaluation.

NEMA’s Information Officer in Enugu, Ezeani Nnanyelugo, later confirmed that a fifth victim had been recovered from the debris and taken to hospital, where medical personnel would determine whether the individual survived. He noted that the casualty toll could have been significantly higher had the state government not previously sealed the construction site.

SEMA Executive Secretary Chinasa Mbah said rescue operations would continue until the entire structure was excavated, stressing that officials would leave no section of the wreckage unchecked to ensure no survivor or victim remained trapped.

Building safety has become a recurring concern in Enugu and across Nigeria, where experts have repeatedly linked many collapses to poor construction practices, substandard materials and violations of approved building plans. Previous investigations into similar incidents in the state have also highlighted weak regulatory compliance and the conversion of structures for purposes they were never designed to serve.

The collapse is the latest in a string of building failures across Nigeria that have reignited concerns over construction standards, regulatory enforcement and compliance with approved building plans. As investigators work to establish the exact cause of the tragedy, the incident is expected to intensify calls for stricter oversight of developments that ignore safety regulations.