A three-storey building collapsed in Sierra Leone on Wednesday trapping dozens of people, officials and survivors said.
The incident occurred in the southern city of Bo, the second-largest city in the west African country after the capital, Freetown.
More than 80 people were working on the building which was under construction, police said.
Rescue operations were ongoing, with eight people rescued and receiving medical treatment, Joseph Kpanabom, an official at the ministry of land, said.
“By every indication, this is a case of poor construction work and poor engineering work,” Kpanabom told DPA news agency.
Two excavators have been deployed to the site to help with the rescue operation, according to officials.
“The mood at the scene is somber. Our men with excavators will continue the rescue throughout the night to try and save more survivors,” Saidu Kamara, assistant inspector general of police, told Radio Democracy.
Kamara said at least 50 people are trapped in the rubble.
The missing are believed to include mainly construction workers and some bystanders.
“I ran away after I heard the sound of the building cracking,” Ibrahim Aruna, a survivor, said.
source: Al Jazeera
