Following the collapse of a storey building in Ekhator Street, Ekosodin, an area known for student housing in Benin City, Edo state, scores of students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have been trapped, News About Nigeria reports.
The collapse reportedly happened after a heavy downpour on Saturday morning as per Sahara Reporters.
It was gathered that rescue operations are ongoing but other details and vital development are still sketchy at press time.
“One of the students said a university rescue team managed to extract some of the trapped occupants, though several were severely injured,” Sahara Reporters quoted an anonymous source as saying.
He added that “the injured victims were promptly rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.
“The rescue team is still searching for one victim who remains trapped inside the rubble. It was reported that the victim called from inside the building, pleading for help, and efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue them,” the student said.
The Dean of Students from UNIBEN is reportedly on the scene, coordinating rescue efforts alongside the university team.
The university management has yet to release an official statement as of the time of reporting about the cause of the collapse or the total number of individuals affected by the incident.
In a separate development, five people reportedly died in an accident that involved the campaign convoy of Monday Okpebholo, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo.
It was learnt that one of the vehicles in Okpebholo’s campaign convoy hit a Toyota Camry conveying five persons, killing the occupants, including the driver.
The victims were said to be returning home after attending a burial ceremony.
