By Our Correspondent<\/p>\n
The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the ongoing rescue operation following the collapse of a three-storey building at Oko, in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, with some occupants reportedly trapped under the rubble.<\/p>\n
The building, identified as Elite Five Star Lodge, located beside Tonimas Filling Station, Amokpala, Oko, reportedly collapsed late Sunday night, July 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
The Police-led joint security team, on receiving the distress call, immediately mobilised to the scene, secured the area and commenced coordinated rescue efforts in collaboration with other relevant emergency agencies.<\/p>\n
The Anambra State Fire Service and the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were also said to have responded promptly and joined the rescue operation.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said rescue operations were still ongoing as emergency responders worked to reach persons who might still be trapped beneath the debris.<\/p>\n
Ikenga explained that the exact number of casualties or affected persons could not yet be ascertained as rescue operations were still in progress.<\/p>\n
He, however, disclosed that some injured victims had been successfully rescued from the rubble and evacuated to a hospital in Oko, where they were receiving medical attention.<\/p>\n
The Police spokesperson urged residents and members of the public, particularly those within the vicinity of the collapsed building, to remain calm and avoid spreading unverified information about the incident.<\/p>\n
He also appealed to members of the public to stay away from the scene to enable emergency responders to carry out rescue operations without obstruction and ensure the safety of residents and responders.<\/p>\n
The Command assured that further updates would be made available as soon as more verified information emerges from the ongoing rescue operation.
\nBuilding Collapse: Oko Poly Management desmiss reports of students death as false, misleading <\/p>\n
Meanwhile the Management of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra state has dismissed reports alleging that large number of students of the institution were trapped in the building that collapsed late Sunday night within the area as false and misleading<\/p>\n
According to a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Dr. Oguegbu Celestine Udoka on Monday, the two persons still trapped in the rubble are not students of the Polytechnic.<\/p>\n
According to him, the collapsed building is not located within the premises of the Polytechnic, but a neighbouring community.<\/p>\n
While saying that the structure which is privately owned has both students and non-students as occupants, he noted that incident occurred after students had completed their second-semester examinations, with significant number of them already out of their hostels and travelled home for the ongoing short break.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cAttention of the Management of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, has been drawn to various reports and narratives circulating on social media concerning the unfortunate collapse of a multi-storey building in Amaokpala, a neighbouring community to Oko town, Anambra State.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, wishes to state categorically that the collapsed building is not located within the premises of the Polytechnic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe incident occurred at Amaokpala, a neighbouring community, and involved a privately owned lodge occupied by both students and non-students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe building, reportedly known as the 5 Elite Storey Building and located beside Tonimas Filling Station, collapsed late Sunday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cContrary to some misleading reports circulating on social media, the incident did not occur inside the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, neither were all the occupants of the building students of the Polytechnic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Polytechnic further wishes to clarify that, as of the time of filing this report, no student of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, has been confirmed dead, and no life has been lost in the unfortunate incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cUpon receiving information about the incident, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Chioma Irene Awuzie, was at the scene as early as 6:36 a.m. to personally ascertain the extent of the incident and establish the welfare of students who might have been affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rector was received at the scene by the President of the Students\u2019 Union Government, Giant Comrade Anuluonye Ifechukwu Joseph, the Public Relations Officer of the Polytechnic, Dr. Oguegbu Celestine Udoka, the Dean of Students\u2019 Affairs, Comrade Chibuzo Asomugha, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the polytechnic, and other members of staff of the Polytechnic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Anambra State Commissioner for Works, Architect Okey Ezeobi, alongside the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Ben Obidike, was s of the time o<\/p>\n
As at the time of filing this story, it was gathered that some occupants have of the building have already been rescued and are receiving medical attention at a nearby hospital for injuries reportedly described as not life threatening <\/p>\n
It was also gathered that approximately two persons, who are reportedly not students of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, may still be trapped, with rescue personnel even as effort is being made to locate and rescue them.<\/p>\n
While urging the public to disregard unverified reports and misleading narratives over the incident, the Polytechnic\u2019s spokesperson gave assurance of the institution\u2019s deep concern about the students\u2019 safety and welfare, saying that it will continue to closely monitor the situation in the ongoing rescue operations.<\/p>\n
He added, “The institution also commends the emergency responders, government officials, local volunteers, security personnel, and other individuals involved in the rescue operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther updates will be provided as credible information becomes available.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the ongoing rescue operation following the collapse of a three-storey building at Oko, in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, with some occupants reportedly trapped under the rubble. The building, identified as Elite Five Star Lodge, located beside Tonimas Filling Station, Amokpala, Oko, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15998,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15997\/revisions\/15998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}