Culpable fear gripped traders at Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Aba, on Wednesday afternoon when a section of shops with property worth N100 million collapsed.

An eyewitness who narrated the incident told newsbuka.com, that people were around the shops when suddenly, they heard sound of cracks suggesting the shops were about to collapse.

He said on hearing the sound, people around the shops alerted others who immediately scampered for safety.

The eyewitness who gave his name as Ikechi Emerole, said though it was not a total collapse, people were afraid to go inside and evacuate goods inside the shops worth N100 million as they sensed the entire shops might collapse.

He said the shops have been marked for demolition suggesting that they are illegal structures but the owners have continued to do business neglecting the dangers these shops pose.

Emerole, however, thanked God that no life was lost, only that property were trapped inside the shops. He called on the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti to embark on proper reinforcement and remodeling of shops in markets in Aba.

He stressed that those structures in the market pose great danger to people doing business around areas where they are situated as they were not built by experienced engineers, adding that some of them are illegal structures that should be demolished.

Emerole hinted that such structures are located in markets in Aba, saying that no one knows the day such buildings will collapse because they have cracked, a sign that it can collapse anytime especially as the rains intensify.

As at the time of filing the report, people were still afraid to enter the shops to evacuate their goods.

Tags: Building Collapse, Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Gov. Alex Otti, Traders