The structure was home to numerous units, according to an eyewitness who arrived at the scene following the event.

He said that during the intense downpour, which began at about 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday, the structure fell. "After the structure collapsed, there was sobbing heard everywhere. The building was completely filled with occupants, and many of them were either dead or imprisoned. "It was a scene of helplessness with people screaming and running helter-skelter, while the heavy rain continued," the witness recalled. Ikharo Attah, a Facebook user and a former assistant to the previous Minister of the FCT, posted about the tragedy on his page in the early hours of Thursday.

He stated seven people had so far been saved and sent to the hospital, while another eight had been injured.

He verified that at around 2 a.m., a rescue crew and other first responders arrived on the scene and started conducting rescue operations. However, he bemoaned that the rescue effort was cumbersome because it was still raining at the time. They are scrambling to hire an excavator so they can rescue people from the wreckage, according to Attah.