In what looks like a miracle, a toddler who was trapped alongside her mother in the two storey building collapse at Ekeoyibo market, Amawbia, Anambra State crawled out of the rubles 24 hours after the collapse.

The child who is currently receiving medical attention in an undisclosed hospital was spotted by onlookers and rescue team early on Friday morning as she crawled out of the space signalling that her mother was still trapped in the rubles.

The miraculous survival of the toddler raised apprehension as rescue team started operation in search of the mother who was still trapped.

It took the use of an excavator to clear the rubbles and rescue operators assisted the woman to come out of the collapsed building and rushed in a waiting medical ambulance to the hospital where officials said she is responding to treatment.

However, rescue team on operation has evacuated the body of an operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and a young man suspected to be a carpenter who was apparently working on the site before the collapse, thereby taking the death toll to three.

However, Anambra State Government has attributed the cases of buildings collapse in the state to what it said was refusal of contractors and developers to abide by the regulations guiding construction of high rising buildings across the State.

The Head of Development Control in Awka Capital Development Agency (ACTDA), Mr. Charles Ekwunife said most of the buildings have no approval papers adding that staff and officials of the agency are always harassed and attacked by contractors at the sites whenever they go for inspection.

He further explained that when officers of the Development Control department invite contractors to present structural drawings and other documents for examination and approval, they refuse and still go ahead to continue developing the sites

“They use local law enforcement agents. Disregarded several stop work orders and there is no building approval from ACTDA. We have it on record that the staff of the Department of Development Control was attacked by contractors when they come to enforce the laws on building.

“The contactors use law enforcement agencies to stop them from going on site inspections and the contractors refuse to go and obtain approvals from the office of ACTDA. They dismiss the stop work marks on those buildings under construction and continue to build,” he said. (Daily Sun)

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