Burial Ceremony Guests Escape Death After Event Centre Roof Collapses In Ekiti

By Babatunde Solanke

At least dozens of people were said to have escaped death on Saturday as the roof of an event centre used for a burial ceremony reception collapsed at Ijero Ekiti in the Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

The burial ceremony guests were said to have dashed out from the building after the roof collapsed  causing a stampede thus causing some people to sustain injuries.

After the stampede, the building auditorium and surroundings were littered with spilt foods served for the guests, broken bottles, shoes, male caps, female wigs and headgears.

Six of the guests who sustained serious injuries were said to been taken to hospital for medical attention.

The State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Sunday sympathised with the victims over the degrees of injuries sustained, just as he also expressed joy that no life was lost in the incident.

Oyebanji, represented by the deputy governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye, who visited the site of the building collapse and Ijero General  Hospital, where some victims received treatments, grieved over the incident, saying the accident was very disturbing and saddening.

 “We thank God that no life was lost. But as a responsible government, we won’t wait until people die before taking actions that can safeguard their lives. That is why it is most expedient that all government agencies must be responsive to their duties all the time.

“Let me sympathise with the victims of this devastating incident. Nobody prays for bad things to happen, but we need to be proactive in preventing occurrences of this nature, rather than being retroactive.

“I know that if the building had been thoroughly supervised and certified fit at every stage of the erection, this incident could have been averted.

“It is just normal and procedural that all public buildings should be monitored and that they built to specifications and with standard materials used because the common feature associated with building collapse now is for contractors to use substandard products,” the governor said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Olajide Borode, who was on the entourage, said men of Fire Services were immediately deployed to the spot for rescue operation as soon as he received a distressed call.

 “The Ekiti State Bureau of Special Project will be here to do an integrity test on the building to ascertain whether it can be salvaged or be demolished out rightly,” Borode said.