Five construction workers were confirmed dead, while five were rescued alive with degrees of injuries yesterday at 13 Wilson Mba, Arowojobe Estate, Maryland area of Lagos State.
The building said to be a two-storey building was said to have come down past 3.a.m and killed the workers who were said to have come to work there outside Lagos. Some were said to be from Ibadan, Oyo State.
The building with the Lagos State Government approval LSC/CON/D/0972 was being put up close to the canal with no mark for demolition by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
Head, Search and Rescue Unit National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Lagos territorial office, Adenike Ibitayo, who spoke with The Guardian the workers were buried under the rubble with the emergency workers pulling them out.
She said: “We have brought out five people dead and five recovered alive and taken to the hospitals where they are receiving treatment. The building was under construction before it came down and there were site workers trapped under the rubble.
Advising Nigerians on need to be at alert during raining season, she said: “Nigerians should stop building on areas prone to flooding and also should ensure to use solid building materials. We discovered that people use poor quality building materials in most of the building collapse we have witnessed. There is need for Nigerians to do due diligence when getting an apartment. Don’t move into a house with cracks and avoid a building already thrown stones because it’s a sign of a building about to collapse. Move out to save your life.
On his part, Director, Operation, Lagos Srare Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olatunde Akinsanya, said the agency got a distress call exactly 3:40.a.m about the collapsed building.
“We activated the Lagos State Emergency’s response plan immediately we got the call and we swift into action and we recovered five victims alive who are laborers working and sleeping in the building before it collapsed.
Out of the five rescued alive, three were taken to Gbagada General Hospital and the remaining two were taken to trauma centre.
Speaking on the swampy nature of the area and the level of monitoring, he said: “The Lagos Statr plan to mitigate building collapse are there for engineers to follow so, the other houses with signs of defects will be taking care by LASBCA. We recovered the bodies who are male.
