UNIBEN students feared dead in three-storey building collapse

An unspecified number of University of Benin (UNIBEN) students were feared dead when a three-storey building collapsed in Edo State on Saturday.

The building located on Ekhator Street, Benin City, is occupied by the students of the university.

An eyewitness said the building was a single-storey structure for years but was recently renovated with the addition of two more floors.

He said: “The owner wanted to make more money since houses are now like diamonds in Ekosodin.

“The building’s foundation and structure were not designed to support the added floors, leading to the collapse.

READ ALSO: Suspected cultists kill two in UNIBEN

“It’s like building a tower of Babylon.”

Emergency responders have been deployed to the scene to rescue students trapped in the rubble.

The spokesman for the Edo State Police Command, Moses Yamu, confirmed the incident.

He said: “Rescue operations are still ongoing and until that is concluded, we cannot confirm whether there are death casualties or not.

“As soon as I have the report, we will let you know.”

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