AT least 23 people have been rescued from a building that collapsed in the Gwarimpa area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday, February 2.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave the update via its Facebook handle on Thursday night.
“So far, 23 people have been rescued,” the statement said.
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NEMA also noted that rescue operations by its operatives and personnel of other agencies continued throughout the night.
The building, located along 7th Avenue in Gwarimpa, was still under construction at the time it collapsed.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to The ICIR, at least 40 people were trapped in the rubble following the collapse, which occured at about 10.00am.
Several response teams were involved in the rescue operations, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Nigerian Police Force (NPF) among others.
Sector Commander of the FCT Federal Road Safety Corps Ochi Oga who spoke with The ICIR on Thursday said the rescue operations would continue till all those trapped in the building were rescued.
“I’m assuring you that this operation will continue until everybody involved in this is rescued,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.