Synagogue: Parents of minor victim can’t be located —Doctor •Death toll rises to 48

PARENTS of a minor victim of the collapsed building of Synagogue Church, who is on admission at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, could not be located.

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Dr Ibrahim Mustapha, a consultant and Head, Surgical Emergency Department, LASUTH, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday, that the minor was fit to be discharged.
“One of the victims, a child, is due to be discharged today, but we cannot find her parents.
“We intend to take her photograph to make the announcement and, hopefully, she will be found by her parents,” Mustapha said.
He added that the other victim, a male, who sustained some bruises on the head and arm, was also fit to be discharged soon.
“The two victims of the collapsed building are responding well to treatment and will be discharged soon.
“Both sustained minor injuries, including bruises, but we have been able to treat and dress their wounds,” he said.

When contacted, the middle-aged man, who refused to disclose his identity, told NAN that he was grateful for surviving the collapsed building.
He said “I was in the building when it suddenly collapsed.I am responding fine to treatment and I hope to be discharged soon.”
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Monday evening, said the number of dead bodies recovered at the scene of the collapsed building on the premises of Synagogue Church had risen to 48.
Its South-West spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, also maintained that no new rescue had been made, adding that the number of rescued people was still 130.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune also revealed that the police had commenced attempts to deploy sniffer dogs, in order to detect more bodies under the rubbles of the collapsed building.
There were fears among the emergency workers that more people might still be trapped in the rubbles, following reports that there were more people there at the time of the incident.
The need to deploy sniffer dogs was reportedly considered by all the emergency management agencies, after the rescue and evacuation exercises on Sunday.
The police could, however, not bring the sniffer dogs as of 5.20 p.m. on Monday.
Farinloye, speaking on the deployment of the dogs, said, “they will help in faster search and rescue of bodies and the early completion of the whole exercise.”
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