Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom on Saturday
escaped unhurt as the Reigners Bible Church International building in Uyo
collapsed during a worship session.
The governor was the special guest of honour at the
consecration service of the Founder of the church, Apostle Akan Weeks, as
bishop.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the
Reigners Bible Church International building, situated on Uyo Village Road, was
still under construction when it collapsed.
Its iron rafters caved in as the service was
ongoing.
A witness told NAN that the building collapsed 30
minutes after the governor arrived.
‘’When we were about taking offering, 30 minutes
after the governor came in, the building caved in. Security operatives took him
away,’’ he said.
When NAN correspondents visited the scene, security
operatives had cordoned off the entire building while trying to rescue those
trapped in the debris.
Another witness, Uduak Effiong, told NAN that a
female victim’s bowel was ripped open by the tragedy.
Ms. Effiong, who is a
communication arts student of the University of Uyo, said that she lost three
friends to the incident.
Joseph James, who also
witnessed the building collapse, told NAN that the Founder of the church, Akan
Weeks, was also brought out unhurt.
Some rescue team members
said that over 60 casualties had been removed from the debris.
However, the state Police
Public Relation Officer, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, said that she could not confirm
the casualty figure since rescue operations were ongoing.
She said that security
operatives had been drafted to maintain law and order at the scene to prevent
hoodlums from cashing in on the situation.
“Rescue team members are
trying their best to rescue all the victims trapped inside the collapsed
building.
‘’We cannot tell you the
exact number of casualties now as the rescue operations are on,’’ she said.
The rescue team at scene is
made up of workers of Julius Berger Construction Company, the police, army,
Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Medical
Association and the Federal Road Safety Corps.
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