LAGOS, July 4 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 20 persons have been feared dead and scores injured when a three-story building under construction caved in on the workers in oil city Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria's southern state of Cross, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Monday.

    Food vendors who were serving the workers were also trapped in the rubble when the building collapsed on Saturday. The incident, which threw Port Harcourt residents into confusion, attracted the attention of Cross State Governor Peter Odili, three commissioners, the mayor of Port Harcourt City Council and the police.

    Godwin Ukpabi, the governor's Special Adviser on Fire Service, Safety and Emergency Relief, said "50 who sustained minor injuries were evacuated," out of the 65 workers on site.

    Officials of the state emergency relief agency and medical personnel were still taking delivery of rescued victims for treatment at the Cross State General Hospital. The incident, which occurred barely three weeks after a similar one claiming the lives of 20 persons in the state capital, has raised more questions than town planning authorities could answer.

    The questions were related to the ownership of the collapsed buildings, the building plan approving authorities, compliance with approved specifications and level of monitoring, if any.

    According to Cross State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Tele Ikuru, the government would find out the owner of the building to ascertain his complicity or otherwise in the accident.

    The collapse of buildings, especially those under construction, is very common in the most African country with a population of over 130 million due to the use of sub-standard building materials. Enditem