A two-storey residential building collapsed in Anambra, but no lives were lost. The commissioner for physical planning and urban development, Chijioke Ojukwu, confirmed the collapse to journalists on Monday.

Mr Ojukwu said that the building, located at Inyaba-Umudim Nnewi, Nnewi North council area, collapsed on Sunday.

The commissioner, who visited the scene for on-the-site assessment, described the collapse as unfortunate. He, however, expressed joy that no fatality had been recorded in the incident.

He said officials had served notice on occupants of a nearby three-storey building for their safety and to make way for an integrity test on the building.

According to Mr Ojukwu, the buildings in the neighbourhood will undergo a mandatory integrity test, and those that fail will be demolished.

“The building was poorly constructed. It was built without the requisite approval of the ministry. It was built on a wall of an existing three-storey building by a developer.

“We will evacuate all the occupants of the three-storey building, which shares the same compound with the collapsed building. We have not been able to confirm if there was any casualty,” Mr Ojukwu said.

He said the state would demolish buildings that rest on perimeter fences of existing buildings, violate setback rules, or lack the requisite approval.

(NAN)