By CJ Bukola.
Condolences to the families of the bereaved as a school building collapses in Jos, leaving 17 students dead in its wake. The state government has expressed deep sadness over the unfortunate incident. Said to have occurred at about 8:30 am on a Friday, the students who were still in class and teachers were found enclosed within the debris. Mr Musa Ashoms, the State Commissioner for Information, disclosed in a statement on Friday that 120 persons were trapped under the rubble while giving an update on the incident.
Following that, 17 persons have been confirmed dead and over 120 persons trapped at the collapsed Saint Academy building located in the Busa Buji community. The Commissioner’s statement read, “The Plateau State Government has expressed deep sadness over the tragic incident at Saint Academy Jos, where a building collapsed resulting in casualties and injured students and teachers still being evacuated to different hospitals within Jos. The government describes the incident as an avoidable tragedy, citing the school’s weak structure and unsafe location near a riverbank. However, we commend the efforts of NEMA, SEMA, Red Cross, and security agencies in rescuing trapped children and transporting them to hospitals.”
Subsequently, he stated that the Commissioner of Health had ordered all the major hospitals in Jos to attend to the victims speedily. He enunciated the government’s emphasis on the importance of adhering to safety standards in relation to buildings to avoid these kinds of saddening situations. He urged schools with similar situations to shut down in order to enable the Jos Metropolitan Development Board to prevent future incidents.
On the other hand, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Sunday Àbdu, who spoke with newsmen after their rescue operation, confirmed that 17 persons have died as a result of the collapse. He described the incident as sad, saying that in Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos, there are 13 dead bodies and 43 persons receiving medical attention while in OLA Specialist Hospital, we have over 40 receiving attention. Similarly, in Plateau Specialist Hospital, there were four dead bodies with 40 people receiving treatment.
We pray for the safe and speedy recovery of the victims of the event and offer heartfelt condolences to the bereaved parents of those now gone.
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