Three Die, Scores Injured As Stephen Keshi Stadium Collapses In Asaba

Three Die, Scores Injured As Stephen Keshi Stadium Collapses In Asaba

No fewer than three persons were reportedly dead and 20 injured when a part of Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba collapsed.

The structure, which is under construction ahead of the national sports festival scheduled to hold at the stadium on November 28, was recently inspected by the Ministry of sports and youths development.

Although, the cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report, however, a source stated that it may be connected to the rush of the construction to meet the deadline for delivery of the project for use.

However, some structural engineers expressed concerns over the speed at which the construction was going, doubting the integrity of the buildings under construction.

In addition, facilities in the stadium had collapsed on two occasions in 2019, causing critics of the incumbent administration in the state led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, to question the quality of job done by the contractor of the project.

The first was the collapse of a big overhead water tank near the swimming pool of the stadium, which ended up destroying vehicles that were under the tank, while the second was the collapse of the score board in the stadium complex.

Construction work had begun in the stadium years ago but was abandoned by the previous administration until Okowa, committed huge sum of money and completed the construction of the stadium last year, enabling the state to host the 21st edition of the African Senior Athletics Championship last August.

-TheStreetjournal