A devastating building collapse occurred on Wednesday at Oriwu Street in the Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State, resulting in a rising death toll. According to a statement released by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Thursday, the death toll has increased to four.
Hundeyin confirmed that “Two more dead bodies brought out of the rubble this morning,” bringing the total number of fatalities to four.
Initially, Ireport247new reported that six people were rescued while two bodies were recovered after the building collapsed on Wednesday.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) responded promptly to the incident, activating the State’s Emergency Response Plans and Response Team from its Lekki and Cappa Bases. According to LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Damilola Oke-Osanyitolu, the incident happened at about 4 pm on Wednesday.
“Following distress calls received via the CRM on the 767/112 Emergency Toll-Free Lines at 1425hrs today, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans and Response Team from its Lekki and Cappa Bases,” Oke-Osanyitolu said.
Upon arrival at the scene, LASEMA’s Shark and Eagle Response Teams discovered that a 3-storey building under construction had collapsed. “So far, two adult males have been extricated from the rubble of the collapsed building. Six seriously injured adult males were rescued and were administered immediate medical care by the LRU Pre-Hospital Care Unit, before being transported to Marina General Hospital for further treatment.”
Oke-Osanyitolu added that the cause of the collapse was yet to be ascertained, and further investigations would be conducted. “LRT is coordinating other common stakeholders for effective response at the incident scene. Agency’s heavy-duty equipment (Excavator) was deployed to the incident scene and is still in operation. Agency’s light and heavy-duty equipment were deployed for the search and rescue operation.”