4 Dead As Hotel Under Construction Collapses In Abraka

A 3-storey-building under construction in Abraka, owned by one Mr. Christopher Onojatanure, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ruejigan Hotel and Suites, Abraka, also a titled Chief in Oruarivie-Abraka Kingdom in Delta State, collapsed during the early hours of today.

Four of the ten workers involved in the construction project who all made use of the said building daily as their place of rest are said to have been trapped after the collapse, as symphatisers battled all day to search for survivors after the incidence.

Six of the workers are said to have escaped being trapped by the collapsed building.

The builders, we gathered were imported from Cotonou for the task of building the edifice, a project that has lasted for some months now.

According to the owner, the said building located at Aghwana Avenue in Abraka was meant to serve as a hotel annex in addition to another already functioning in the university town.

A police source blamed the incidence on negligence, as many residents in the community wondered why he did not give the workers a better accommodation space.

Mr. Christopher however expressed shock over the incidence, saying that they woke up this morning to discover the collapse.

At press time, we gathered that the hotelier was in police custody, as we were told by reliable sources that the Area Commander, Sapele, ACP Sani was on ground to ascertain the situation alongside other sister agencies that were involved in a possible rescue of any survivor.

In the meantime, one of the corpses has been recovered, and search still on for three of the trapped bodies.

Contacted, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya while confirming the incident, disclosed that the command is yet to receive any confirmation of death as a result of the incident.

She said: “It is true there has been a building, a hotel still under construction. We have no record of death because from what we know for now, it is still under construction.”