Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Chike Mmaduekwe, decried the development and expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost as the collapse was a partial one.
He, however, disclosed that the approval given was for the construction of a three-storey building but the developer went contrary to plan and started erecting a five-storey building.
The building was meant to serve a commercial purpose upon completion.
An excavator had already been deployed to the site to commence evacuation of the rubbles and a possible rescue operation of any trapped victim.
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, had warned developers to not only secure approvals from the relevant bodies before building but also to comply with terms of construction to avoid loss of lives and resources.
He had ordered all buildings erected without approvals in the state to be demolished and this collapsed building will not be an exception as repeated contravention notices were served to the developer who remained adamant.
