At least, forty people escaped death as a popular hotel named Metro View, collapsed in Abakaliki the capital of Ebonyi state.
The hotel is one of the popular hotels in the state. It is situated close to Ebonyi State University, Presco Campus, Abakaliki, the hotel collapsed at about 6:30pm on Wednesday.
Reacting on the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor of Ebonyi State, on Capital Territory, Chief Ejem Okoro, said the hotel had been sealed off following the sad occurrence.
The closure of the hotel became necessary to avoid loss of life, to enable thorough investigation to ascertain the possible cause and to forestall further collapses.
Chief Okoro said he was sure that about 60 persons were in the hotel when it collapsed, adding that the hotel will remain sealed pending all investigation by the government are completed.
However, a management staff of the hotel management, Chief Austin Orji diaclosed that the affected wing only had about 42 occupants but they were not in their rooms when the building collapsed.
Chief Orji was quoted saying, “The part of the hotel that collapsed was seen sometimes last week with cracks in the pillars and the management of the hotel quickly called for renovations to be made. It was during the renovation that the wing of the hotel collapsed.”
He then thanked God that no life was lost, adding that all those who lodged in the hotel were outside the building for a seminar when the incident happened.