Get Guardian on GoogleNo fewer than five people including children were yesterday confirmed dead in a collapsed building in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
Three others are also at the time of this report on danger list at the General Hospital in Ilorin.
However, the state Emergency Management Agency confirmed the death of four people and the rescue of four others.
Our reporter reliably learnt that the horrible incident happened early Tuesday morning when a three-storey 30-room building caved-in at Oke-Oyan in Popo Giwa area of the town.
Eyewitnesses recounted that volunteers recovered the corpses of a mother and her son under the debris.
The head of the family of the property, Abdulkareem Ayinla Jekidero, who informed that the he and his siblings and step brothers and sisters inherited the over 60 years old structure.
He recalled that the building collapsed at about 5:30 am, saying: “we just returned from Subhi (morning) prayer when I heard a loud noise.
“I sent someone to check what the noise was about; when he returned he told me that the building behind had collapsed. I couldn’t believe it,” he disclosed.
Pleading with public spirited groups and individuals for assistance, Abdulkareem lamented: “this is disheartening.”
Meanwhile, a rescuer, AbdulAzeez, regretted that he and other youths in the area could have rescued many people if only they had building collapse experience.
According to him: “we were removing debris and unknowingly heaping them even on some of the trapped tenants, we became aware when we moved to the spot to lift the debris. By then, some have died.”
He added that: “though, they didn’t die immediately, they died at the hospital.”
The SEMA Secretary, Magaji Saadudeen, confirmed the death of four people and the rescue of four others.
Hesaid eight people were trapped in the building, adding that the rescued victims and bodies of the deceased had been taken to hospital.
“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” Saadudeen said.
The Public Relations Officer of the State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, said:”we have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive.”
Adekunle said the agency received a distress call at about 5am reporting that a building had collapsed and people were trapped underneath.
“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.
He added that officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other emergency agencies joined the rescue operation.
