The quiet of the early morning was shattered by a loud crash in the Oke-Oyan area of Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, yesterday, leaving residents scrambling to rescue people trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed three-storey building.

At least five people, including children, were feared dead in the incident, while three others were reportedly receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ilorin, as of press time.

However, the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) officially confirmed four deaths and the rescue of four people from the rubble.

The building, said to be more than 60 years old, contained about 30 rooms and reportedly collapsed at about 5:30 a.m.

For Abdulkareem Ayinla Jekidero, whose family inherited the property, the sound of the collapse was one he said he would not easily forget.

Jekidero said he and some members of his family had just returned from Subhi, the early morning Muslim prayer, when they heard the 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 said.

He explained that the property had been inherited by him, his siblings and stepbrothers and stepsisters.

Describing the incident as “disheartening,” Jekidero appealed to public-spirited individuals and organisations to come to the family’s aid.

As residents and emergency workers battled to reach those trapped beneath the debris, eyewitnesses said volunteers recovered the bodies of a woman and her son.

One of the rescuers, AbdulAzeez, said local youths who rushed to the scene were desperate to help but lacked experience in handling building collapses.

He said their lack of expertise made the rescue operation more difficult.

“We were removing debris and unknowingly heaping them on some of the trapped tenants. We only realised this when we moved to the spot to lift the debris. By then, some had died,” he said.

According to him, some of the victims did not die at the scene but later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The Secretary of SEMA, Magaji Saadudeen, said eight people were trapped in the building, adding that four were rescued while four others were confirmed dead.
He said the rescued victims and bodies of the deceased had been taken to hospital.

The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, also confirmed that four people were recovered dead while four others were rescued alive.

Adekunle said the agency received a distress call at about 5:00a.m. that a building had collapsed and that people were trapped underneath.

“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operations. 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.

The rescue effort continued as emergency workers and residents combed through the debris in search of anyone who might still be trapped.