PHOTOS: Girl, 5, foreman killed in another Lagos building collapse
Yet another building has collapsed and led to the loss of lives in Lagos.
The incident happened at No 9 Daddy Alaja Street, Oke Arin, Idumota, Lagos Island while Nigerians celebrated Independence Day on May 29 (yesterday).
According to a statement by LASEMA, the 3-storey building collapsed around 7am on Monday.
Fourteen of the trapped victims were successfully evacuated alive by the agency, but with varying degrees of injuries.
Two victims, however, didn’t make it out alive.
A resident of the area told newsmen that the man contracted to renovate the building had advised the landlord to pull the dilapidated building down instead, but he refused.
A witness said, “Those that died were the man in charge of the bricklayers (foreman), who we call Baba Ibeji.
“The second was a five-year-old girl, Farida. She had gone to the toilet when the pillars fell on her and she could not wriggle her way out. Her father, mother, elder brother and the family’s housemaid, were rescued with some injuries.”
The victims’ “bodies were recovered from the debris and were handed over to the family members for burial,” LASEMA said.
See photos during evacuation of the victims:
LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu noted that premilinary investigation carried out at the scene of the incident revealed that illegal activities of repairs was ongoing.
He said, “sands and concrete blocks were seen on upper deck of the building together with scaffolding around it which suggested that construction was going on in the building already inhabited by people.”
Adesina said that proper investigation would be carried out by the relevant government agencies to ascertain the actual circumstances leading to the collapsed of the building.
He advised owners and developers of buildings in the state to strictly adhere to the building codes and physical planing laws of the state so as to avert unnecessary loss of lives.
