A building under construction has collapsed in one of the GSM markets in Kano.
The building is located on Beirut road, a very busy area in Kano.
Many people are feared trapped in the rubble.
According to a witness, some of the persons inside the building when it caved in could not be rescued because there was no available equipment.
The voice of one of the trapped victims could be heard when he was called on the phone.
“We just called his number and he is picking calls. Only that there is no way for him to escape,” one of the witnesses said.
Meanwhile, a member of the rescue team who got to the scene early, said an excavator was on its way to the scene to boost efforts to rescue all the trapped victims.
Shortly afterwards, two more people were rescued from the building bringing the number of rescued victims to three. They were all rushed to a hospital.
One of the volunteers, who participated in the rescue operation, said many people including women and children are still in the building.
“Some little girls selling eggs, women selling food are all trapped inside. We had to dig a hole to bring the three victims out. The remaining are inside, we can hear their sounds but we we couldn’t locate them,” he said.
He added that when they noticed that the building had developed some cracks, they alerted the builders who reportedly assured them nothing would happen.
“Even the equipment they are bringing cannot do anything. We have alerted them (the builders) since and this is the second time but nothing was done,” he added.
Among the rescue teams at the scene are officials of the Fire Service, Road Safety, police and the State Emergency management Agency (SEMA).
The incident occurred less than a week after a building under construction in Abuja collapsed, leaving two persons dead. – Daily Trust.
