The Lagos State government yesterday asked families of the victims of the collapsed 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, to visit Mainland Hospital, Yaba, otherwise known as Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), for identification of recovered dead bodies.
The high-rise building along Gerrard Road in Ikoyi axis of Lagos collapsed last Monday afternoon with many people trapped in the rubble.
There was still no official figure of how many people were in the building when the structure caved in but the number of survivors stood at nine while recovered bodies stood at 38.
At the time of filing this report, emergency responders were still at the site making efforts to rescue more survivors and recover more bodies.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, who visited the scene yesterday, did not speak with journalists, even as no update was given on the six man panel set up by the state government to investigate the cause of the building’s collapse.
But addressing journalists hours after Hamzat left the scene, the state Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho, said the rescue exercise would continue until all those who were at the building before it collapsed could be accounted for.
The commissioner said DNA tests would be conducted for bodies that might be very difficult to identify.
“So far now, we have recovered 38 bodies and as you know we have nine survivors and some bodies are ready for identification,” Omotosho said.
He added: “People can go to IDH Yaba, from 4:00pm to identify the bodies of their loved ones. For bodies that may be very difficult to identify, we are going to be conducting DNA tests for such bodies to be identified. I will like to let you know that the operation continues.”
The commissioner disclosed that 32 persons who were said to be at the building before the collapse have been declared missing by their relatives.
On his part, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South West Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye said: “It’s work in progress, and we must appreciate the first respondents. I can’t confirm a figure different apart from that of the state government.”
