Many people have been feared dead as a two-storey building shop collapsed in Eke-Amawbia market, Awka South local government area of Anambra state.
The Nation gathered that some others were trapped in the rubble.
The incident, it was further gathered, happened around 12.02 pm Thursday.
At the time of this report, security and paramilitary personnel were working to clear the debris.
The collapse has caused fear among traders, residents, and onlookers.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the two-storey shop building suddenly fell, burying numerous vegetable traders beneath.
However, it was further learnt, that one person had been rescued and rushed to a hospital in Amawbia for urgent medical attention
Traders who witnessed the collapse blamed the disaster on substandard engineering work, alleging that the building’s structural integrity had been compromised.
But the Chairman of COREN in Anambra state, Victor Menu, told The Nation that his body would investigate the actual cause before coming out with any answer
Read Also: Anambra teacher bags 21 year jail term
Meanwhile, the rescue operation was still ongoing, with emergency responders working tirelessly to search for survivors amidst the rubble
One of the weeping traders who did not want her name mentioned, blamed the government and its agents for building markets with substandard materials
“They are only interested in collecting fees without checking the kind of materials being used in erecting structures in the markets in the state.”