By Miriam Humbe
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is coordinating the emergency response to the collapse of a four-storey uncompleted building at Independence Layout, Enugu State.
Manzo Ezekiel, the Head of Press Unit at the NEMA, Headquarters in Abuja disclosed this in a statement signed on Sunday.
The incident occurred at about 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, 13th September 2026, prompting the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, to immediately direct the Enugu Operations Office to deploy an Emergency Rescue Team to the scene and coordinate rescue operations with relevant stakeholders.
On arrival, the rescue team was informed that some persons were trapped beneath the rubble and immediately commenced search and rescue operations. An excavator was mobilised to support the painstaking removal of debris in an effort to rescue the trapped victims.
As of 11:20 a.m., the joint rescue team successfully recovered the lifeless body of one male victim from the collapsed structure.
Rescue operations are still ongoing as emergency responders continue to search through the debris to ascertain whether other victims remain trapped beneath the rubble.
The operation is being coordinated by NEMA in collaboration with the Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Nigeria Police Force, the Enugu State Fire and Rescue Service, the Enugu State Capital Territory Development Authority, and the Enugu State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
