By CHARLES IWUOHA

Tragedy struck in Enugu on Friday night as four persons lost their lives following the collapse of a building at the Agric Quarters in Mgbemena, Coal Camp, Enugu North Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the victims are four children of the same parents.

The chairman, Enugu Capital Territory Development Agency (ECTDA), Hon. Uche Anya, who visited the scene of the collapse, said that the structure was approved for animal husbandry but was converted for residential.

While lamenting that the collapsed building was not healthy for human residence, the ECTDA chairman revealed that the structure had 44 rooms.

“As soon as we got the intelligence, we rushed to the place. Four children died in the episode.

“It was danger waiting to happen. The construction was irresponsible. The place should never have been occupied by human being. In fact, go there and see.

“Apparently, they claim that they are doing animal husbandry and poultry there but it turned out that there are 44 rooms that human beings are occupying and there must have a population of over 200 people there.

“The fence line was totally unacceptable, nobody does that, and unfortunately, the people we lost in that tragedy are innocent children and it is very painful”, Anya added.

The ECTDA Chairman said that the agency would continue to sensitise the public on the need to live a more conducive environment to avoid future occurrence of the unfortunate incident.

According to him, the Compliance Unit of the agency under his leadership would ensure that structures erected by landlords and contractors adhere strictly to the approval plan.