The Federal Fire Service says rescue operations at the site of the collapsed four-storey building at Dape in Life Camp, Abuja, will resume on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.

The rescue operation stopped around 10:00 p.m. while security officials were drafted to guard the area.

Emeribe David, a fire service superintendent, said all the agencies involved agreed to resume the rescue operation on Tuesday morning.

The building, said to be a hotel under construction, collapsed around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, trapping an undisclosed number of labourers.

Mr David, who led the team of firemen to the site, said the fire service received a distress call around 4:00 p.m. and reached the site about 15 minutes later.

He said his team joined other agencies in the operations to save the lives of the people trapped in the wreckage.

He identified some agencies as the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps, National Emergency Management Agency, security agencies, etc.

“Immediately, the Fire Service received the call. We were deployed to the scene with a fire truck and ambulance crew to see what we could salvage. We do not know the number of people that were trapped, but we will figure that out when we continue the operations in the morning,” he said.

FEMA director-general Abass Idris told journalists that nine people were rescued at 7:44 p.m.

(NAN)