Mr Francis Evboumwan, the Commissioner for Works in Edo, on Tuesday confirmed that an Italian project manager died in the building under construction that collapsed at the Benin Central Hospital on Monday.
Evboumwan, who announced the death to newsmen in Benin, said the man was a worker with Sincies Chimentin Ltd, the construction company handling the project.
He said the late expatriate, who was trapped alongside other workers on Monday, was pulled out of the debris in the night.
The commissioner said that the state government would not give the name of the Italian for diplomatic reason, adding that seven other workers were rescued alive.
Evboumwan said the state government would investigate the incident, and that it would invite structural experts to determine the integrity of the building.
He said that the construction had been suspended in the hospital, which belongs to the state government until full investigation was concluded.
Meanwhile, the body of the late expatriate has been deposited in the morgue at the Stella Obasanjo Memorial Hospital, Benin.
The state government had earlier, in a statement, attributed the collapse of the building to a crane which collided with the structure while lifting building materials to the topmost floor of the building.