Members of the Council for the Registration of Engineers in Nigeria have visited the collapsed two-storey building site in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
During the visit, the body confirmed that the two persons who lost their lives during the building collapse were carpenters carrying out carpentry works on the facility.
Confirming the incident on Sunday, the State Chairman of COREN, Mr Victor Meju, said the building belongs to a legal practitioner.
The structure, it was gathered, was being rid of its second floor which was said to have a defect when it caved in and killed two persons working at the site on Friday.
The engineer in charge had instructed the workers to remove the second floor which was not properly constructed and in the course of the removal, the building caved in.
Meju said samples of concrete, rods, blocks and other aggregates from the site have been collected for proper laboratory test to ascertain their strengths.
He noted that the committee, while in the course of its preliminary and visual site seeing on the building project, observed some unprofessional practices which are against the Engineering Codes and Standards in the country and beyond.
He called for stricter enforcement and compliance to laid down standards to avoid more incidences of building collapse in the state.
He said, “The structure collapsed at about 17:55hours on Friday. The building which is still under construction commenced two years ago.
“The committee, while in the course of their preliminary and visual site seeing noted unprofessional practices which are against Engineering Codes and Standards in the country and beyond.
“Samples of concrete, rods, blocks and other aggregates from the site have been collected for proper laboratory test to ascertain their strengths.
“The state Technical Committee of the Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Inspectorate and the Anambra State Physical Planning Board has since sealed the site.”
COREN and members of the State Technical Committee of the Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Inspectorate Anambra State visited the site of the collapsed building.
