4 Dead, others injured in fresh building collapse in lagos

*Authorities say the Nigeria Police and the community dwellers have complemented the efforts of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service to rescue four male adults as search and rescue efforts continue to save others trapped in the building

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

Four persons, again, have died whereas five others were rescued as a building under construction collapsed in the Badagry division of Lagos State Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

ConsumerConnect  gathered the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), confirmed the figures in an update about the collapsed building located at Sunny Filled, Flour Mills Estate, Magbon, in Badagry region of the state.

Wednesday’s incident came barely two weeks after a 21-story skyscraper collapsed in the Ikoyi area of the state, in which estimated 46 persons died and about nine others rescued in the incident that occurred Monday, November 1.

The development elicited reactions from many quarters with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State admitting that “mistakes were made from all angles.

“This is an event that could be described clearly as a national disaster. Mistakes were made from all angles.”

The Governor has  set up a Tribunal of Enquiry to probe the incident.

Sanwo-Olu added that “the panel’s terms of reference also include ascertaining whether there was a compromise of the building codes by the developer, his contractor, and statutory regulatory agencies.

“The panel will be finding out who the culprits are. The investigation will start with the heads of regulatory agencies.

“Be rest assured that if there are other people found wanting in the course of the investigation, everybody will face the full wrath of the law.”

On the Badagry building collapse incident, LASEMA stated in a blogpost via its social media account: “Nine casualties who were construction workers were recorded of which five adult males were rescued and taken to the hospital for medical treatment while four adult males were recovered dead from the rubble, and taken to Badagry General Hospital by Police Officers from ‘Area K’ in the company of family members for documentation.”

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service was quoted to have said earlier that the victims, who were mainly construction workers, were rescued with varying degrees of injury but in stable condition and had been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Margaret Adeseye, Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, reportedly said: “However, 4 (four) adults male have been recovered (unconscious) thus far as the Nigeria Police, Morogbo Division, and the community dwellers are complementing the efforts of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service.”

In the update, the agency said efforts were ongoing to rescue other people trapped in the building.

Eyewitness account of incident

Oluwagbenga Ogundele, an eyewitness, also told the News Agency of Nigeria, that the building collapsed on the nine construction workers on site around 3 p.m. Wednesday .

Ogundele, who works as security guard near the site, disclosed that residents were alerted to the scene by a visitor to the site.

He stated: “The visitor was not in the building when it collapse, it was him that called for assistance while policemen from Area ‘K’ came to rescue them.

“We were able to rescue five alive because they were calling for help, while four of them gave up the ghost.

“Police, Fire Brigade and our intervention saved those that survived.”

The five injured labourers were taken to the Catholic Church Hospital, Magbon, while the four dead bodies had been deposited at Badagry General Hospital mortuary, report said.

One of the elders in the Estate who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that the building had been abandoned by the owner for close to six years before work resumed on it recently.

The elder said: “It was recently that a new owner started building another floor on top to make it a storey building.

“Around 3p.m., we heard a loud sound and when we got to the scene, the building had collapsed on the labourers working inside it.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, South-West Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), was said to have confirmed the incident, and that  four persons died while five  others sustained injuries in the collapse.

The officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) have sealed off the site of the collapsed building, report added.

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