Eight construction workers die in Enugu underground tank

The Enugu police command says eight construction workers died at an underground water safety tank in the state.

Ebere Amaraizu, the command’s public relations officer, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the incident occurred around 6pm at a building construction site at Igogoro village in Enugu-Ezike, Igboeze north local government area, on Monday.

“From what we gathered, one of the construction workers, while trying to evacuate water, got trapped inside the underground tank at the site,” the statement said.

“After waiting for the worker for some time, the other workers went to offer help but also got trapped and became unconscious.

“They were later rescued and rushed to the General Hospital, Ogurute, where the doctor on duty confirmed them dead.”

Amaraizu said Suleiman Balarabe, the state commissioner of police, expressed shock over the incident which he described as “unfortunate”.

He added that the police commissioner had ordered for a thorough investigation into the incident.

“The Commissioner has ordered a full scale investigation into the incident,” he said.

According to the statement, the remains of the victims had been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.