Buea building collapse: Woman’s death raises concerns about lack of emergency rescue unit

Had Buea had an emergency rescue unit in times of disaster, Eba Jannet, about 35, could still be alive. She died at Dirty South, Buea, after a two-story building collapsed on her plank house.

A surviving victim said Jannet was trapped in the rubble, entangled with electricity cables and water from a septic tank from the collapsed structure.

Because of that, the neighbors who came to help had to look for ways to disconnect the electricity cable before reaching out to her.

At that time, it was late. Ten people were affected as a result of the collapse, but only six were brought to the Buea Regional Hospital where they are receiving treatment.

At the hospital, neighbors and relatives were inconsolable. They described Eba Jannet as a very jovial person who was loved by many.

The mother of three was selling coki and other food items for survival.

Her husband died about seven years in an accident ago along the Tiko-Douala road.

Her two children are among the survivors battling for their lives at the Buea Regional Hospital.

The deceased hails from Ambele Tanka, Widikum, in Momo Division of the North West.

According to a victim who spoke on the basis of anonymity, they heard when the building was shaking, but since it was at night, about 4 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13, they could not figure out immediately what was happening until it crashed down.

Incidents like this keep happening in Buea but the city has no emergency rescue unit unlike other towns.

Eyewitnesses say if there was any response unit, the deceased victim could have survived. 

She died two days before her birthday, on February 15.

Municipal officials and law enforcement officers arrived at the scene this morning to evaluate the damage and open investigations into the incident.

The collapsed storey building was still under construction and onlookers who came to the scene blamed poor and hasty construction for its premature collapse.

Mimi Mefo Info