By George M.O. Williams
One construction worker has died, and three others have been rescued from rubbles after a four-story building, which was under construction, collapsed at Congo Town, west of Freetown on Monday, the disaster agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The rescue operation will resume this morning [August 13, 2024] as [rescue] teams continue their tireless search for any remaining victims believed to be trapped beneath the debris,” the National Disaster Management Agency said in the statement.
The Enforcement Officer of Ministry of Lands, Babah Samura, explained that the ministry had observed that the ground structure of the collapsed building had an old and weak foundation, but the owner went on to add existing floors to that old structure, a situation which he said caused the building to collapse.
He added that during the construction, the Ministry had sent several warning letters to the owner of the building to stop work and do what was necessary to improve the strength of the building, but the owner failed to comply with instruction of the ministry.
When asked about the quality of material used in the building, he commented that the pillars of the house were not equal, and the span of the column was too wide, adding that the materials including the iron rods used in the construction were substandard and the concrete mixture was poor.
Rescues efforts marred by delay
Reports suggest that the building collapsed at around 1:30pm and the National Disaster Management Agency was informed about the disaster at around 2;30. But the excavator, a machinery which is very instrumental in rescued efforts, get to the disaster scene at 5;50pm. The community volunteers and a combined teams from the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, RSLAF, NDMA, Freetown City Council, FCC, and Sierra Leone Roads Authority, SLRA, and other emergency agencies worked tirelessly to successfully removed the victims from the rubbles.
The Director General of NDMA, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Brima Sesay said that the long vehicle that was supposed to transport the excavator had a minor issue which resulted in the late arrival of the excavator at the disaster site.
Note; this is a developing story