At least 13 persons escaped death when a two-storey building under construction collapsed in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

The incident occurred on Nta Eke Street, along the Efio-Ette axis of Ikot Ishie on Saturday, April 29, 2023 when workers were trying to complete the second decking of the building.

It was gathered that medical and other relevant personnel were deployed to rescue the victims and convey them to the hospital.

The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Eric Anderson, in the statement, said the investigation showed that the cause of the building collapse, was not unconnected to negligence and the use of sub-standard building materials.

He said the action of the builder had earlier attracted the attention of the Ministry of Urban Renewal to issue them an advisory stop-work notice which they (the builder) ignored.

“Already, a number of persons trapped in the collapsed building have been rescued and have been taken to hospital for proper treatment,” Anderson said.

“The government hereby notes and appreciates the quick intervention of the member-elect for Calabar Municipality, Mr Stanley Nsemo, for providing the excavator and emergency relief materials as well as collaborating with the Ministry of Health to ensure that ambulances were on the ground to convey affected persons to the hospital.”

In an update on Sunday, April 30, the commissioner said that 13 workers were at the site before the incident but only 10 were there when the incident happened as three took a break.

“The people originally working at the site were 13 but three took a break before the incident, so only 10 were on the ground when the building collapsed. We can account for the 10 persons but the security guard told us that a boy was seen at the site seconds before the collapse,”