Family of 3 escapes death as mast falls on building

A family of three, a couple and their
only daughter, narrowly escaped death, Tuesday
night, when a communication mast pulled down
by rainstorm landed on their house at Udoka
Housing Estate in Awka, Anambra State.
The couple, Mr. Joseph Eze, his wife, Veronica
and an unnamed daughter, had gone to bed after
dinner when the mast still under construction,
fell and hit the roof of their bungalow, destroying
the house as well as the walls of nearby buildings
and some electric poles.

Eze said: "We were sleeping around 10 p.m when
the rain started falling with heavy wind and the
next thing we heard was a big bang on our
building. We ran out of the bed and saw part of
the mast resting on our bed."
His wife, Veronica, regretted that the incident
had rendered them homeless, adding: "We have
no place now to sleep."
Residents of the area, who gathered at the scene
regretted that despite an earlier advice by
authorities of the Anambra State Housing
Development Corporation, owners of the mast
went ahead to convince higher authorities that
the mast would not cause any problem in the
area.
Vanguard gathered, yesterday, that the state
housing corporation had in a letter dated April 9,
2013, directed the media establishment to
dismantle the mast, adding that somehow, the
company went on with the job.
The letter, which was signed by Mr. P.E.
Ozoekwe, a principal architect and head of
development control read: "We write to observe
with serious concern that the above property
allocated to you as a residential property is now
being converted into a commercial complex with
a mast under installation.
"The corporation is very much shocked when the
development control team on routine inspection,
saw that a mast is being installed in the area.
"We plead that you will, by this letter, take
appropriate steps to dismantle the part of the
mast already installed and ensure that no further
installation of the mast takes place at the site."
Chairman of Udoka Housing Estate phase II
residents, Rev. Obiora Nwosu, said yesterday
that they knew from inception that the
installation of the mast was a health hazard.