By Christopher Oji, Lagos
No fewer than five persons have been confirmed dead in a collapsed building at Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, Lagos.
It was gathered that the early morning incident affected a set of three-storey buildings under construction, which collapsed and trapped some of the workers under the rubble. Confirming the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the incident happened at number 13, Wilson Mba Street, Arowojobe Estate in Maryland. He stated that five male bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
“The agency received a distress call regarding a collapsed building at the above address at about 3.49 a.m. This prompted the immediate activation of the agency’s response team to the scene of the incident at 3.58 a.m. One of the rescued victims was treated at the site. Search and rescue operations began immediately, and five adult males were recovered dead, two male adults were rescued alive, and one adult male trapped under the rubble was rescued,” he said.
Read also: Building collapse: 3.6m houses in Nigeria substandard –FG
He added that the rescue operation was carried out through the efforts of LASEMA and the Lagos State Fire Service.
Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said the service was alerted at about 1:55 a.m. to a collapsed building, and upon receiving the call, the Ilupeju Rescue Team was immediately dispatched to the scene. “Eight people have been rescued so far. Five people were rescued alive and have been transported to the hospital for medical treatment. Sadly, three individuals have been recovered deceased. Search and rescue operations are actively ongoing. Further updates will be provided as the rescue operations continue. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event.”