Tuesday, May 7, 2013

One dead, 10 workers trapped under collapsed building rubbles



One person was confirmed dead this evening and at least 10 people are believed to be trapped when a building, at Bashiru Street, Ojodu Berger, Lagos State crumbled like a pack of cards.
The building which is a three storey building is said to be a FourSquare Church. Six people were injured and one of them is a pastor.
The deceased is a 25-year-old man.
It was gathered that a church meeting was going on in the church when the building collapsed while some masons were up there doing some work at the last floor of the building.
A resident in the street who identified herself as Stephanie Kanu said that there were signs of defect and that the building had been in bad shape and that the foundation was faulty.
She said that instead of pulling it down, the landlord had been building more flats over it in spite of the fact that virtually all the floors were uncompleted.
But for the timely intervention of neighbours and the Lagos State Environmental Management Agency (LASEMA), casualties would have been more as those who were rescued were driven to the hospital for medical attention.
The LASEMA boss, Dr. Olufemi Osayintolu said that they got wind of the disaster 10 minutes after the collapse and mobilised to rescue the victims.

About ten construction workers were feared to be trapped in the collapsed building, which happened at about 5:30pm. But officials confirmed about four of the workers were trapped.
Immediately the incident happened, residents in the area were said to have alerted the relevant agencies, including the police.
One body as at 6:30pm was recovered, while no fewer than 10 other construction workers were still being trapped in the collapsed building
The building, situated at 9, Bashiru was said to be under construction and renovation and that the affected workers were bricklayers, carpenters and labourers, who were working on the site.
It was further gathered from a resident in the area that some of the workers were almost through for the day's work, when the building caved in.
Officials of the National Emergency Agency, Lagos State Emergency Agency, Nigerian Police Force and other rescued operators had immediately stormed the scene intent on rescue operation. 
When contacted, the police image maker, Gnosis Braide denied being aware of the incident 
NEMA south west spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed the incident but claimed that only four bodies were trapped.
But for the timely intervention of neighbours and the Lagos State Environmental Management Agency (LASEMA), casualties would have been more as those who were rescued were driven to the hospital for medical attention.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos Stare, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, a town planner, confirmed the incident last night. He insisted that only one died and one injured. He said the injured was rushed to a nearby hospital.
He added that there was a building approval for the project, which was under construction before it collapsed.

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