16 Rescued, Several Others Trapped as Building Collapses in Lagos

Chiemelie Ezeobi

No fewer than 16 persons were Thursday rescued alive when a three-storey building undergoing construction caved in and collapsed at no 2/4, Richard Abimbola Street, off Limca Road, Ire Akari Estate, Ilasa area of Lagos.

Asides the 16 persons rescued by emergency workers drawn from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and local volunteers,
several of the construction workers were still trapped underneath the rubble as at press time.

Although no casualty has been recorded yet, it was gathered that the worrisome aspect was that nobody could tell the actual figure of the number of persons who were in the building at the point it collapsed.

According to reports, the construction workers were at work when the building suddenly made a sudden lurch and began to crumble before they could get their bearing.

Already, the some of 16 survivors have either been treated by the agency’s medical team and Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) or were rushed to the hospital depending on the severity of their injuries.

Confirming the incident, the General Manager LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu, said, “We got a situation report about a collapsed building at Richard Abimbola Street, Ilasa bus stop.

“On getting to the scene of incident it was discovered that it was an uncompleted building that collapsed while an unknown number of labourers were doing their various works at different areas.

“Further investigation revealed that the building collapsed at around 2pm. We first reached 14 of the labourers and some were treated by the agency’s medical team and LASAMBUS.

“Meanwhile, others with serious injuries were rushed to the hospital. Extraction of trapped victims is on going and no mortality has been recorded at the moment.”

Also confirming the incident, the South-west Zonal Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said evacuation will continue until they get to the ground floor.

In a series of text messages he said, “The building collapse at no 2/4, Richard Abimbola Street, off Limca Road, Ire Akari Estate, was a three-storey building that was under construction.

“Initially, emergency workers were able to rescue 13 persons alive and unascertained number of persons are still trapped underneath the rubble. Our operation continues. “

As at 5.57pm, he said emergency workers increased the number of rescued persons by two, making the total rescue figure 15 and at about 6.15pm, he said one more person was rescued, making it 16 survivors.