Many trapped as 3-storey building collapses in Lagos

 85-year-old, 5 others rescued
TRAGEDY struck yesterday in Lagos as a three-Storey building located at No 87 Odunfa street , off Ad­eniji Adele Street on Lagos Island in Lagos State, col­lapsed, trapping many occu­pants of the building.

Five persons, Daily Sun learnt have been rescued while many are still trapped in the rubble of the build­ing, which collapsed at about 9a.m. yesterday, as confirmed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

It was gathered that the building, which was over 30 years old and described as ‘civilian barrack,’ caved in at about 9 a.m after making obvious cracks.
NEMA spokesman Ibra­him Farinloye told Daily Sun that rescue operations to get out the trapped occupants have been initiated and on­going and that already, five persons, including a 15-year-old boy and an elderly wom­an believed to be in her early 80s were rescued alive. The octogenarian was rescued at about 1:45 pm with her body covered in dust.

Farinloye said the agency was not expecting further rescue of occupants as most of the occupants of the three-storey building “appeared to have miraculously left be­fore the building collapsed.
“Since the incident oc­curred at about 9a.m, there is the possibility that the oc­cupants may have gone to work and the children gone to school before the incident occurred. We believe those rescued were the people in the building as nobody has reported any missing per­son.”

NEMA also reported they waded through the rubble to get to the base of the build­ing in order to assist some occupants retrieve their property.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately ascer­tained, but it was suspected that the building may have been distressed before cav­ing in. According to some residents of the street, the building was old and dilapi­dated and had shown signs of distress.

General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Michael Akindele, said the agency received a distress call at about 9a.m. and im­mediately mobilised to site.
Meanwhile, Daily Sun learnt that the rescued per­sons have been rushed to Sura Health Centre on the Island for treatment.

“When we received the distress call, emergency re­sponse was activated with all stakeholders on ground. We used both heavy and light duty equipment to rescue those trapped.

“Five people were evacu­ated and taken to the gen­eral hospital. Emergency response is still ongoing. We will carry out our investiga­tion to ascertain the cause of the collapse. All relevant stakeholders are on ground and the area has been cor­doned off,” he stated.
Source:The Sun