Not less than 200 persons died on Saturday, 10th December 2016 following the collapse of the Reigners’ Bible Church Int’l Inc, along Uyo Village Road in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital. The church building collapsed during a service that had the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel in attendance. Going by reports, it took the efforts of the governor’s security officers to whisk him away to safety though he reportedly sustained a minor injury.
Udom was in the church attending the ordination of the church’s Presiding Pastor, Bishop Elect Akan Weeks, when the building gave way few minutes before offering period. One of the governor’s aides, who rescued him, was said to have died at a nearby hospital where he was rushed to. A security officer, who spoke anonymously, said many dignitaries who accompanied the governor to the church also died. The the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Etekamba Umoren, also had a major head injury and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the state.
Meanwhile the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Prof. Etete Peters, said of the 50 cases treated in the treatment, only one person died. He said, “We only lost one person in the hospital except those that were brought dead. In circumstances like this, we have been overwhelmed. We need help from government.
“Many victims are in private hospitals and mortuaries scattered all over Uyo metropolis; we can’t really tell how many people have died so far. We have over 200 persons in the mortuaries. We do not have space as people are still being brought in. We have done our best to revive some victims. Right now, we have over 50 cases we are attending to. This is the first time we are witnessing such an incident.’’
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary said persons found to have compromised professional standards in the construction of the building would be sanctioned. It stated in parts that, ‘‘His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, was present at the church service during the incident and thereafter personally supervised rescue operations and evacuation of the injured to the hospital. The state government will undertake the medical treatment of the victims.’’
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