No deaths as another school building collapses in Lagos
A four-storey building housing a private school in the Ogba area of Lagos came crashing down on Monday — but not before students and teachers made it out alive.
The building, which housed Yemco Nursery and Primary School and Yemco Comprehensive College, caved in around noon on Monday, just minutes after students and staff were evacuated from the premises. Witnesses say the structure collapsed less than three minutes after the last person was moved out.
Residents in the neighbourhood described the timely evacuation as what stood between a close call and a mass casualty event. Emergency responders have been alerted and are expected to assess nearby structures.
The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined
This is not an isolated incident. Lagos has seen a string of building collapses in recent months, and schools have not been spared.
In January, a classroom block at Odokekere High School in Ikorodu also collapsed, again with no casualties recorded, only because students were not inside at the time.
The recurring pattern raises an uncomfortable question: how many more near-misses before a collapse finally kills a classroom full of children?
Read also: Banana Island Building Collapse: What we know so far
