One of the classroom blocks at Diamond Grammar College, Ikang, Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, has collapsed, killing two students and leaving several others injured, during the Friday, March 25 heavy rainfall.

The tragedy occurred during the heavy downpour on Friday afternoon, while students were sitting for an examination in the school. An eyewitness explained that two casualties had been recorded already, while several other victims were being evacuated to a medical facility.

“I saw at least two dead bodies and several injured students being moved out of the school immediately after the building collapsed. It was a very horrible sight on Friday; everywhere was in chaos as a result of the incident. The heavy rain compounded the whole problem as it made the evacuation of students involved in the building collapse quite difficult for rescuers,” he explained.

Residents said the government had not responded to their emergency calls on the incident, as they had resorted to self-help.

“It is individual and community efforts that have been helping affected families manage the situation since Friday when the building collapsed.

“We have not seen any tangible response from the government. Many of those injured are still in the hospital and need intensive treatment which costs a lot of money. Government should help the families as the burden is too much on them,” he said.

At the time of this report, the state government was yet to make an official statement on the incident. (Text, excluding headline: Nigerian Tribune)