Crews work at the scene of a rail bridge collapse and railcars derailment over the Bow River, southeast of downtown Calgary. (AP)
Abuja – The Kano State Government has blamed a construction firm for the deadly collapse of a bridge this past weekend.
Seven people died when the pedestrian facility collapsed on a vehicle underneath it at the Dorayi quarters.
Speaking on the disaster, Jaafar Jaafar, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, said the company had to bear full responsibility for falling to cordon off the area with red tape to stop movement on the structure.
“Although this is not the first time a brick, panel, beam, have accidentally fell off at a construction site, the company is to bear full responsibility for its failure to cordon off the area with red tape to stop vehicular and pedestrian movement, pending the completion and certification of the project by government,” Jaafar said.
He absolved government from blame.
“Instead of people to mourn the death of the victims and blame the company of failure to close the road, some disgruntled elements are busy accusing government,” Jaafar said.
He said the site is yet to be handed over to government as a completed project and the government is yet to certify the project as it is still ongoing.
“Forty minutes before the tragedy, government supervisors headed by Commissioner of Works picked hole in the placement of the beams and drew the attention of the construction company to immediately rectify the anomaly before moving to the next stage,” said Jaafar.
Nonetheless, the governor’s media aide prayed for the soul of those who died in the tragedy to rest in peace.
The identity of the company constructing the bridge could not be ascertained at the time of going to press.
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