Otuaro promises govt’s support to victims, families of Okpanam collapsed building

Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro of Delta State after visiting the scene of the collapsed building at Okpanam, Delta State, and the Specialist Hospital treating victims, promised that the state government will support the victims and their families. Noting that rescue operation has been concluded, the deputy governor said that the state government will conduct proper investigation to ascertain the root cause of the collapsed building.

Deputy Governor Otuaro had declared: “I assure the victims and their families of the full support of His Excellency, Senator (Dr.) Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa-led Government during this difficult period and his commitment to establishing the root cause of the collapse.

“I commiserate with the families of the diseased. We pray God to grant the gentle soul of the departed eternal rest. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of those that were caught up in this tragic incident.

“The rescue operation has been concluded and a high-level investigative panel has already been set up to unravel the cause of the building collapse and other related issues surrounding the building. The outcome of the investigation will be made public in form of a report and necessary actions will be taken.

“Once again, the Government of Delta State wants to assure the public of its commitment to ensuring that incidents of this kind do not occur in the future and sincerely thank all ministries, departments, and agencies for their prompt response and coordinated rescue operation that led to the minimal impact of the incident.”

The deputy governor further highlighted: “a few hours ago, I visited the scene of the building collapse at Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.  I also visited the Asaba Specialist Hospital to personally assess the state of those who were hurt in the cause of the incident.

“The Government of Delta State has put all measures in place and officials are working round the clock to save the situation.

“Sadly, we have lost four persons thus far. However, the reports from the medical team seem to be comforting for the number of persons responding to treatment and most of them will be discharged in no distant time.

“We remain hopeful and thank God because it could have been worse with the numbers of children that were upstairs while the building collapse totally.”