One person has died while three adult males have been rescued following the collapse of a two-storey building under construction in the Fadeyi area of Lagos State.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday at Akinola Street, near Fadeyi Bus Stop, off Ikorodu Road.
LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed the development in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
He said the agency received a distress call at 12:10 a.m. and immediately activated its Cobra Response Team from the Onipanu Base.
According to him, the team arrived at the scene two minutes later and found that the building under construction had collapsed, with construction workers suspected to be trapped beneath the rubble.
The emergency responders immediately began search and rescue operations, putting safety measures in place to protect both victims and personnel.
Oke-Osanyintolu said rescuers heard groaning sounds beneath the debris during the operation, raising hopes that some victims were still alive.
He added that an excavator was deployed to assist the team in searching through the rubble.
Rescued victims taken to hospital
The LASEMA chief said the three rescued men received immediate pre-hospital care from agency paramedics and the Lagos State Ambulance Service before being transferred to hospital for further treatment.
Responders at the scene included personnel from LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, LASAMBUS and the Nigeria Police Force from the Alagbon Division.
The agency said search and rescue operations were continuing to establish whether other people remained trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
Cause of collapse under investigation
Oke-Osanyintolu said the cause of the building collapse had yet to be determined and would be investigated by the relevant regulatory agencies.
He commiserated with the family of the deceased and wished the rescued victims a speedy recovery.
The permanent secretary also reiterated the state government’s commitment to addressing substandard construction and strengthening monitoring and enforcement in collaboration with the Lagos State Building Control Agency.
The measures, he said, were aimed at preventing similar incidents in the state.
