12 rescued, one injured as another building collapses

After a four-day non-stop torrential rainfall in Lagos State, which began since the weekend, a three-storey building under construction collapsed in Wednesday night. The building suddenly collapsed, trapping 13 persons who were inside at the time of the incident.

The building, located at K Farm Estate, Fagba, Iju Road in Ifako Ijaye Local Council Development Area (LCDA) was originally a bungalow but was being re-constructed before it gave way at about 11:30p.m. on Wednesday night.

Efforts to get the reaction from the estate management owned by K.F. Rotimi Williams proved abortive as journalists were prevented from entering the estate by over 20 private security men at the gate. The security men threatened to deal with newsmen who disobeyed their command to leave the gate.

“We will manhandle you guys if you do not leave now. We have no problems, except you want our trouble. Leave or we would give you the beating of your lives,” one of the guards threatened.

It would be recalled that on Sunday, two persons were injured in a one-storey building collapse at No. 35, Adesanya Street, Mafoluku area of Oshodi, Lagos. The house was being renovated when it fell at about 8:15a.m. Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) demolished the rest of the building. The house was sealed off years ago before it was bought and people started living there last December.

Speaking with The Guardian at the site of Wednesday’s collapsed building yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of LASEMA, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, revealed that they received a distress call regarding the affected building through the emergency toll free number 112/767 and immediately mobilized their response team with other stakeholders to the scene.

He said on arrival to the scene, their preliminary investigations showed that a three-storey building said to be presently undergoing construction suddenly collapsed, trapping over a dozen beneath the rubbles.

He further explained that after physical assessment of the collapsed building, it showed that the incident could be as a result of the use of substandard building materials and also a lack of expertise in the construction of the building. Fortunately, there was no loss of life as all the victims were rescued alive and were all treated on the spot.

While noting that other relevant government agencies have also been contacted for further investigations as to the real cause of the incident to prevent future occurrence in the state, he said they will continue to partner with relevant stakeholders and also continue the advocacy on the need for all to always imbibe good safety culture to avoid unnecessary loss of life and property in the state.

He went further to reiterate the need for all building contractors and developers in the state to always ensure they abide by the Lagos State building codes and regulations before and during building construction to prevent unnecessary collapse of buildings and subsequent loss of lives and properties.