It was an emotional sight today at the Satellite Town area of Lagos, over a ten-storey building collapse.
The collapse of the building situated on Old Ojo Road, near Alakija Bus Stop, off the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, triggered a lot of alarm with many people scampering to safety.
Though there were no immediate report of casualties, but the anxiety that trailed the collapse was dizzying given that it is a residential building and many people were trapped beneath.
Commendably, rescue teams arrived promptly to the area following an alarm, and started with cordoning off the affected area.
According to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said it received a distress call at about 11:37 a.m. and immediately dispatched emergency personnel from the Ijegun-Egba Fire Station to the scene.
Firefighters arrived within minutes and commenced rescue operations at the site of the collapsed structure, which was reportedly occupied by several residents at the time of the incident.
Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, confirmed that ten occupants had been pulled out alive from the debris.
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“The rescued victims sustained varying degrees of injuries and were handed over to medical personnel for treatment,” she said.
She stated that rescue operations were still underway as emergency workers continued to search the wreckage for other occupants who may remain trapped.
The operation has drawn support from multiple emergency and security agencies, including the Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Navy, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), and the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
In a statement Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Environmental Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, a coordinated rescue operation was underway to locate and extricate victims trapped in the debris.
“LASEMA has activated its emergency response following the collapse of a three-storey shopping complex at Alakija, Ori-Ade LCDA.
“A multi-agency rescue operation is ongoing, with responders working systematically to search for and extricate anyone trapped beneath the rubble,” Oke-Osanyintolu stated, informing that while two persons had been rescued alive, the body of one victim had been recovered.
Building collapse is no longer a rarity in Lagos, with officials adducing a number of reasons, majorly, the use of substandard materials and non-adherence to general building codes.
The actual cause of this particular one can only be known after investigations
