A four-storey building on Akah Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has collapsed, trapping a yet-to-be-identified number of persons.

It was gathered that the building collapsed on a bungalow around 6.30pm yesterday.

The Coordinator, South South Zonal Office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Godwin Tepikor, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the phone, said four persons had been rescued so far.

“A four-storey building behind Zenith Bank on Akah Road by Plaza, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has collapsed on a bungalow. Some persons are said to be trapped in the bungalow. A search and rescue has commenced and four persons have been rescued so far. Further update will be given,” he said.

Incidences of building collapse across the country have become alarming in recent times, with six cases recorded in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Oyo and Jigawa states within three weeks.

While about a dozen were killed in the six cases, others sustained varying degrees of injury.

Aside from the Jigawa and Akwa Ibom incidents, it was reported that 137 fatalities were recorded in 57 cases of building collapse in two years.