Ten people have been confirmed dead as a three-storey building collapsed at 24, Ibadan Street, Off Murtala Mohammed Way, in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred at 10.30pm on May 1, prompting emergency agencies to swing into action.
No fewer than 24 people, including children, were said to have been rescued alive, leaving some of them with varying degrees of injuries.
The occupants were said to be in their various apartments and some of them were already asleep when the building suddenly collapsed and trapped most of them.
Immediately, emergency agencies were alerted as some residents resorted to self-help by searching the rubble to rescue the trapped victims even before the responders arrived at the scene.
Emergency agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Fire Service, Red Cross Society of Nigeria and other rescue services, as well as the police, rushed to the scene and commenced a search and rescue operation for the victims.
The acting coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the death of the 10 occupants, adding that the collapsed structure had been marked for demolition.
He said: “Another three-storey building on Lagos Street, about 200 metres away from the current scene has shown signs of distress with part throwing pebbles and falling off.
“The building had also been marked as distressed, but the occupants were deviant. However, the building has been re-sealed and occupants evacuated by officers of Lagos State Buildings Control Agency.
“Ten deaths have been confirmed, six males and four females, including a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member. Twenty four people have been rescued alive, including seven children and 17 adults.”
The Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Mr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement late Sunday night, said some of the injured victims were rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for urgent treatment.
He said: “On arrival at the incident scene, an old three-storey building, comprising rooms and parlour, was discovered to have collapsed. Further information gathered revealed that the incident occurred around 10.56pm with an undetermined number of people trapped.”
Meanwhile, the landlord’s son in the care of the collapsed building, who was formerly living in the house, as gathered, disclosed that he had since given the occupants of the building notice to evacuate, but claimed that they refused to adhere to the quit notice.
Stating this, Farinloye said the landlord’s son revealed that he had to leave the building and rented an apartment in the same vicinity.
He further stated that the tenants and other occupants stopped paying rent to anyone for long.
LASEMA’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Nosa Okunbor, said out of the 23 rescued alive by the emergency responders, 22 were males.
