Properties damaged as building collapse in Dla 3

Some inhabitants in the Dakar neighbourhood in Douala 3 subdivision cheated death after a storey building undergoing construction collapsed on their houses neither killing nor injuring anyone.

CNA reporter said neighbours complained of enormous damages. According to some victims, if the building had collapsed during the day, “Thank God it happened at night. Had it collapsed in the afternoon when people always sit outside just around the building washing clothes and doing other chores, we would have been running to the mortuary and hospital right now”. A woman said.

“We noticed cracks on the building and feared it was going to collapse anytime. We had to abandon our bedroom to sleep in the parlour since the bedroom was directly where the building stood. Now see how the bedroom has been destroyed by debris from the building. Imagine we were in there.” One of the victims.

It is suspected unskilled contractors, low-quality building materials and negligence account for the collapse of the building. The same factors accounted for the collapse of several structures in Douala. This is one of the common phenomena denizens in Douala face.