By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info (Editor)
Published on 2024-02-13 13:38:52
If Buea had an emergency rescue unit in times of disaster, Eba Jannet, about 35 years old, might still be alive. She died at Dirty South, Buea, after a two-story building collapsed onto her plank house.
A survivor mentioned that Jannet was trapped in the rubble, tangled with electricity cables and water from a septic tank from the collapsed structure. Because of this, the neighbors who came to help had to find ways to disconnect the electricity cable before reaching out to her.
By the time they were able to assist, it was too late. Ten people were affected by the collapse, but only six were taken to Buea Regional Hospital where they are receiving treatment.
At the hospital, neighbors and relatives were devastated. They described Eba Jannet as a very lively person who was loved by many. The mother of three was selling coki and other food items for survival after her husband died about seven years ago in an accident along the Tiko-Douala road. Her two children are among the survivors battling for their lives at the Buea Regional Hospital.
Eba Jannet was from Ambele Tanka, Widikum, in Momo Division of the North West.
According to an anonymous victim, they heard the building shaking, but since it was at night, around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13, they could not immediately figure out what was happening until it collapsed.
Incidents like this keep happening in Buea, but the city lacks an emergency rescue unit unlike other towns. Eyewitnesses say if there was a 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 the next morning to assess 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 rushed construction for its premature collapse.
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
