Looking visibly emotional, VP Juldeh Jalloh reassured the victims of the government’s commitment to providing proper medical care
Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, today visited the site of the tragic seven-storey building collapse where several casualties have been reported, highlighting the importance of swiftly enforcing building standards, even if it requires the demolition of unsafe structures.
The collapse at 57 Bai Bureh Road, east of Freetown, which occurred on Monday, 16 September 2024, has claimed multiple lives, prompting an urgent response from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
During his visit, Vice President Jalloh also made a stop at the Rokupa Hospital, where he met with survivors. Looking visibly emotional, he reassured the victims of the government’s commitment to providing proper medical care. He expressed his sympathies to the bereaved families, some of whom lost their loved ones as a result of the disaster.
Speaking to journalists and community members at the site, VP Jalloh stressed the urgency of continuing the search and rescue operations, announcing that more human and material resources would be made available to accelerate the efforts.
“This disaster has prompted a nationwide conversation about construction safety, as this is the second building collapse in recent times,” the Vice President stressed, adding that, “those incidents reflected the critical need for stricter enforcement of regulations to prevent future tragedies and safeguard the lives of Sierra Leoneans”.
