Fourteen corpses have been reportedly retrieved from the rubble of the 21-storey building that collapsed in Lagos on Monday at Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Nine others were also rescued alive at the time of this report, while many were still feared trapped under the rubble of the skyscraper which was still under construction when it caved in.
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has, however, ordered an investigation into the incident with a view to ascertaining what led to what and who’s culpable.
Ibrahim Farinloye, South West zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who confirmed the deaths on Monday, said rescue efforts were still ongoing as of the time of filing in this report.
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NEMA team and that of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) are still on ground trying to rescue trapped workers, Farinloye told newsmen. Emergency responders said they mobilised men and rescue equipment to the site when they received the news.
Olufemi, Oke-Osanyintolu, the director-general, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said the agency activated its emergency response plan to deal with the disaster.
“All first responders are en route to secure the scene while the heavy-duty equipment and life detection equipment have been dispatched,” he said.
About 50 people were reportedly trapped under the rubble after the building collapsed. The building, located at 20, Gerrard Road, collapsed around 3 p.m. on Monday.
However, the Lagos State ministry of physical planning and urban development lamented that its rescue team was struggling to clear gridlock to access the collapsed building site when the incident happened.
Meanwhile, the state government has called for calm over the collapsed building, as Governor Sanwo-Olu ordered an investigation into it.
The state deputy governor, Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, visited the site in the company of other officials, including the commissioner for physical planning and urban development, Idris Salako, among others, and directed security agents to cordon off the site to facilitate rescue efforts. He assured that the report of the investigation would be made public in due course.
