Thursday 16 May 2013

Family Of 3 Escapes Death As Mast Falls On Building

A family of three, a couple and their only daughter, narrowly escaped death, Tuesday night, when a communication mast pulled down by rainstorm landed on their house at Udoka Housing Estate in Awka, Anambra State.
 
The couple, Mr. Joseph Eze, his wife, Veronica and an unnamed daughter, had gone to bed after dinner when the mast still under construction, fell and hit the roof of their bungalow, destroying the house as well as the walls of nearby buildings and some electric poles.
The collapsed mast. Eze said: “We were sleeping around 10 p.m when the rain started falling with heavy wind and the next thing we heard was a big bang on our building. We ran out of the bed and saw part of the mast resting on our bed.”
His wife, Veronica, regretted that the incident had rendered them homeless, adding: “We have no place now to sleep.”
Residents of the area, who gathered at the scene regretted that despite an earlier advice by authorities of the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation, owners of the mast went ahead to convince higher authorities that the mast would not cause any problem in the area.
The state housing corporation had in a letter dated April 9, 2013, directed the media establishment to dismantle the mast, adding that somehow, the company went on with the job.
The letter, which was signed by Mr. P.E. Ozoekwe, a principal architect and head of development control read: “We write to observe with serious concern that the above property allocated to you as a residential property is now being converted into a commercial complex with a mast under installation.
“The corporation is very much shocked when the development control team on routine inspection, saw that a mast is being installed in the area.
“We plead that you will, by this letter, take appropriate steps to dismantle the part of the mast already installed and ensure that no further installation of the mast takes place at the site.”
Chairman of Udoka Housing Estate phase II residents, Rev. Obiora Nwosu, said yesterday that they knew from inception that the installation of the mast was a health hazard.

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