The management of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University(ATBU), Bauchi, has declared that none of its students is still missing following the collapse of a bridge in the institution.
This is contrary to reports in some media that students were still missing.
It would be recalled that the metallic bridge linking the student hostel and the lecture halls collapsed on Monday night at about 11.45 following a heavy downpour which led to the death of four students. Seven others were reported injured.
It had reported been that the incident was as a result of a heavy downpour in the state which lasted for several hours.
The Vice Chancellor, Muhammad Abdullazeez, who received the Bauchi state Governor, during a condolence visit to the Gubi campus of the institution on Wednesday, explained that the management later found out that only three students had died in the incident and not four.
He said that the students had written to the management requesting for a footpath from the hostel to the lecture halls as the main road was very far.
According to him,"The management felt that it was necessary to construct a metal bridge so that at a time, it will carry between 10 to 15 people at a time. This is not meant for static loads but for dynamic loads, that means, you don't stand on it, you just pass".
He added that "From the report we received from some of the students was that, when the rain had finished falling and the students were about crossing, the found the scene excellent for them to take selfies".
"So they started from two and before you could realize, there were more than 30 students on the bridge standing, and that bridge was not meant for people to stand.
"Some of the students could not pass and had to also stand, and the bridge suddenly collapsed and that was how we lost three students. And there were some rumours that some students are missing, as at today, we came to the University, we came and ask, as of now, we don't have identity of any student missing.
"Based on our records, no student is missing for now and confirmed dead people are three, two from Kogi state and one from Benue State, two females and a male and they are all from Business Education and Management Studies".
The VC said that the University Management has constituted an investigation committee to find out the remote cause and the possible way to handle the whole situation.
He thanked the state government and security agencies for bring proactive in handling the incident.
"The Police, the DSS and the state government were proactive, they did a lot to us. This is the first time the State government is promptly responding to problems that have affected the University," he said.
In his speech during the visit, the Bauchi state Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, commiserated with the families of the deceased, the Management and entire students of the institution for the unfortunate incident.
The Governor who was in company with top government officials and Heads of Security Agencies in the state, was represented by the Speaker of the Bauchi state House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman.
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