A Catholic Church building collapsed yesterday at Adagbrasa-Ugolo community in Okpe Local Government Area, Delta State, killing one and leaving others injured.
St Paul Catholic Church Adagbrassa – Ugolo is an outstation of St Williams Catholic Church, Orerokpe Parish, under Catholic Diocese of Warri.
An eyewitness said the collapsed building was under construction as a foundation built round the old church.
He said service was yet to begin before the collapse.
The deceased was Jeffery Enukanerhire. His father, Jackson Enukanerhire: “My son, who was to be 11 years next month, was a dedicated member of the church; he is the only one playing jazz for the church choir. He nicknamed himself Oga, so I call him Oga.
‘’We all left for church this morning; we were all gathered waiting for the seminarian to come and start the service, when the building just collapsed once, we managed to escape, but many were trapped inside.
“ So I joined in the rescue too, but at the end I could not find Oga. We started raising the bricks one after the other before we finally saw my son lying lifeless under the blocks with various degrees of injuries. We rushed him to the Orerokpe General Hospital where he was confirmed dead“.
“I am still in shock because I cannot believe Oga is no more. Where is my God? My faith could not rescue my child , why me,? Why me? Why? He lamented in pains”.
At the Orerokpe General Hospital, the injured were being attended to by nurses on duty.
Senate President Bukola Saraki has commiserated with the state government and the Catholic Church on the collapse.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said he would continue to monitor the situation and help ensure that survivors received medical attention.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa expressed shock over the death of a worshiper in the building. He promised to help survivors.
Okowa, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Charles Aniagwu, stated: “This is indeed a very sad and unfortunate incident. On behalf of the Government and people of Delta. I commiserate with the family of the deceased and those injured.”
