In the early hours of Sunday morning, a nearly completed three-storey building collapsed at the main junction in Pentagon, Kamayama, west of Freetown, leaving six men trapped beneath the rubble.
The building, reportedly owned by a Sierra Leonean based in the United States, Manoh Bangura, was under the supervision of his brother Tejan Bangura, who is among those affected. Others trapped included Mustapha Bunduka (alias Obameyang, a contractor), Momoh Koroma, Sorie Sesay, Ibrahim Kanu (a tailor), and one unnamed worker.
The collapse occurred around 2:15 AM. According to residents, there had been repeated warnings about the building’s poor structural integrity, including undersized support pillars, visible cracks in walls and staircases, and general concerns over construction standards. These concerns, residents say, were dismissed or ignored.
The first official to arrive at the scene was Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ahmed Karamoh Kabbah, the Local Unit Commander for Lumley, who promptly alerted his superiors. However, it took over four hours before the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) brought in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) Engineering Unit to assist.
With no machinery immediately available, early rescue efforts were desperately manual—shovels, sticks, hammers, and bare hands were used as community youth, police officers, and soldiers worked side by side to save lives.
By 4:30 PM, four of the six trapped men—Tejan Bangura, Momoh Koroma, Obameyang, and the tailor—had been rescued alive and rushed to the Emergency Hospital for treatment. However, Mustapha Bunduka and Sorie Sesay remained missing under the rubble late Sunday evening, with fears that they may have perished.
As the rescue operation continued into the night, questions have begun to surface over the delayed official response and alleged neglect of building safety warnings.
Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the cause of the collapse or announce any investigation.
By Christine Bell
