Four-year-old, other two killed as building collapse *10 victims rescued

Juliana Franci A four-year-old girl was among the three persons killed, after a three storey building crumpled like a pack of card at 15 Alli Street, Lagos Island on Wednesday night.
The other two victims have been identified as an 82-year-old man and the third victim, a trader, from the Igbo extraction.
About 10 persons: four children, an old woman, three girls and two middle aged men were pulled out from the rubbles by some youths in the community.

Residents in the area claimed that the building made a loud noise and collapsed at about 09.55pm.

As the building came down, it crashed on top of a six bedroom bungalow located at 13 Alli Street, killing the 82-year-old man and the Igbo trader who was sleeping in a shop located under the dilapidated building.

It was further gathered that the building had already been slated down for demolition by the state government. The occupants of the building had been given notice of the state government order and had even evacuated before the structure finally collapsed on Wednesday.

One of the residents said: “I heard a loud noise as if there was a bomb and saw heavy bricks from the house were flying about. I and a Hausa man selling Suya managed to escape. But the Hausa man’s junior brother who was trying to pack their loads sustained fatal injury on his head. We ran away from the spot.”

But for the timely intervention of youths in the area, the 10 persons rescued from the six bedroom bungalow, would have all died.

Some of the kids who were rescued were rushed to Massey Children Hospital. The four-year-old girl sustained a severe injury to her eyes and later died. 

Two girls who sustained injuries were taken to Lagos General Hospital and others whose injuries are minor went to a nearby chemist for treatment.

Mr. Joseph Owoeye, who was among the lucky tenants living in the six bedroom bungalow, explained that majority of them who escaped, had left home to watch the European football match somewhere.
“I usually sleep around 9.30pm, but today’s (Wednesday) night, I just went out to buy food and to watch Arsenal football match at Bamgbose Street along with some boys living in our house when the incident occurred,” recalled Owoeye.

Some of the residents alleged that the state government would have demolished the collapsed building, but the owner allegedly bribed officials not to pull it down.

The residents insisted that another building in the area, belonging to the same landlord, was almost on the brick on collapsing. They urged government to come and demolish it before it falls and kills people.
Policemen from the Area ‘A’ command, Divisional police stations on the Island, Commander of the State Security outfit, Rapid Respond Squad (RRS), Hakeem Odumosu and his men, as well as members of Pashi/Willoughby, Olosun, Obadina, and Alaagba Community Development Associations (CDAs) so also the leaders of CDC were all at the scene.

Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Fire servicemen and a LASAMBUS later came and joined others for the rescue operation, while a heavy duty caterpillar brought to exhume the remains of the Igbo man which had been buried in the rubbles from the collapsed 3 storey building.

Reacting to the incident, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Akeem Masha representing Lagos Island constituency I described the incident as sad and sympathetic.
He urged Lagosians to always be the eyes of the government by reporting any dilapidated structures in their areas to State or Local Governments for prompt action.
“We should not continue to wait or shy away from such until many innocent lives were lost to somebody’s selfishness. Let us all work together and salvage our state from the shylock developers”, he remarked.