Plateau school building: Loud no!se made us believe the world was ending, say pupils
Surviving students of the tragic building collapse at Saint Academy in Jos, the Plateau State capital, have narrated how the unfortunate Friday, July 12 incident happened, resulting in the deaths of their classmates and friends.
going down. Another of my children fell on the ground with the collapsed building and was shouting and crying before he eventually got help.
“However, up till now, we have not seen him. I am praying to God to allow me see my son. But, my pain is that those who were making efforts to rescue more survivors were stopped by security operatives who barricaded the place. They should allow them to continue; perhaps, they could rescue my son. We have gone to the mortuary and the hospital to check, but we haven’t seen him.”
Another mother who identified herself as Samuel Dat stated that her child was buried for two and a half hours, though she eventually survived.
Plateau closes school, declares three-day mourning
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has ordered the closure of the collapsed school. The state’s Commissioner for Information disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. The commissioner added that the governor also ordered the arrest of artisanal miners operating around residential areas in the state. He stated that Mutfwang commiserated with the families of the deceased children, and promised that the state government would bear the cost of treating the injured students.
Ashoms added that the state government had declared a three-day mourning period following the sad incident.
FG orders investigation
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has called for an immediate investigation into the building collapse. Dangiwa made the call on Saturday in Abuja, while directing the Plateau State Controller of the ministry to spearhead a comprehensive investigation to ascertain the cause of the collapse, and bring to justice anyone found culpable.
