5 women killed after Cherubim and Seraphim church building collapsed in Ondo
Five
people have been killed and many others sustained serious injuries
after a Church building collapsed at Ija-Ugbo, Arogbo Ijaw town, in the
Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Tuesday.
It was gathered that all the victims at the
Cherubim and Seraphim Church were women. Among them was a pregnant woman.
The building was said to be under renovation when it collapsed.
According to a witness, the women had gone to the construction site to fetch disused planks when the incident happened.
He said the tragedy threw the community into mourning.
The witness said:
“This
is the first time that such a thing will happen in this community. It
was caused by the inferior materials used for the renovation of the
church. This is so sad as the women were not even members of the church,
they just went there to fetch firewood”
The state Police Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident, describing it as sad and unfortunate.
The
PPRO identified the victims as Morenike Bubuma, Margret Goloba, Mayama
Goloba, Kowei Aboa and Dali Gunuboh, who was pregnant.
Joseph explained that the victims were killed while struggling for wood at the Church site.
He said:
“A
renovation was going on in one of the churches in the area. The owners
were trying to build a bigger church. While trying to demolish the old
one, the building collapsed just as people were struggling for disused
wood.
“Five people were killed on the spot, while four others were
seriously injured and rushed to a nearby hospital for medical
attention.”
He said the command had begun investigation into the incident, while the corpses of the victims had been deposited in a morgue.
The
Caretaker Chairman of the Ese Odo council area, Mr. Bekewe Olowu, also
confirmed the incident, saying it was “shocking and devastating.”