Banana Island Building Collapse: What we know so far
A seven-storey building under construction collapsed in Banana Island, Ikoyi area of Lagos State, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
Although details about the incident are still sketchy as of 9 pm on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Here is what we know so far.
What happened?
A Nigerian newspaper – The Punch reports that the incident happened around 3 pm when some of the construction workers on site had closed for the day.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said the building collapsed at First Avenue, Banana Island, in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Ikoyi Nigeria’s most affluent neighbourhood home to the country’s extremely upper-class citizens. Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu and many other political and business leaders live in Ikoyi.
An eyewitness captured the moment the building crumbled.
In videos posted on social media, a plume of dust could be seen billowing from the scene of the collapsed building.
Are there casualties?
The level of casualties remains unknown as government agencies are yet to respond to Neusroom’s request for comments.
We sent a message to Nosa Okunbor, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), but he’s yet to respond.
Amodu Shakiri, the spokesperson for the Lagos Fire Service and Rescue Service, who confirmed the incident, told Punch Newspaper that “we got a call around 3:58 pm. We are currently trying to ascertain the claim that no one was under the rubble.”
The victims of the building collapse who sustained injuries are receiving immediate medical attention.
At 9:32 pm on Wednesday, a statement by the Lagos state government said “we are able to confirm at this time that there is no fatality. The unfortunate incident happened while workers at the site were involved in some casting work.”
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Engr. Tayo Bamgbose-Martins was at site of the incident to assess the situation and flag off an immediate investigation into the cause of the building collapse, the government said.
The incident is coming 17 months after a 21-storey building under construction collapsed on Gerard Road in Ikoyi, on Monday, November 1, 2021.
More than 20 construction workers and the owner of the real estate development company were among the victims of the building collapse on Gerard Road in November 2021.
Building collapse, which has been linked to negligence and use of substandard materials by estate developers, is a common occurrence in Lagos.
In March 2016, a five-storey building collapsed in the Lekki area of Lagos, killing more than 30 people.
In March 2019, a school building collapse in the Ita-Faji area of Lagos Island also killed about 20 people including school children.
- This story was updated at 10:12 pm with the official statement from the Lagos State Government.
