The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed two persons dead, while 20 survivors have been rescued from the two-storey building that collapsed on Monday at 54 Cole Street, near Cemetery Bus Stop in Oyingbo area of Lagos State.
NEMA gave the update in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday.
The agency stated that its Lagos Operations Office led a multi-agency response to distress alerts and immediately deployed rescue personnel and extrication equipment to the scene, working in conjunction with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and other emergency services.
“Upon arrival, emergency teams discovered several occupants trapped beneath the debris.
“After several hours of intensive operations, 20 persons were rescued alive, while those with injuries were promptly evacuated to nearby hospitals for treatment. Sadly, two fatalities were confirmed,” the statement read.
Following the final phase of the operation, NEMA said, “All occupants were accounted for, and the search and rescue mission was officially concluded.
“The site has since been cleared under the supervision of the Nigeria Police Force, which also maintained security and crowd control throughout the exercise.”
The agency added that the collapsed structure had been marked for demolition, but occupants allegedly ignored evacuation directives prior to the incident.
“Preliminary assessment revealed that the collapsed structure had been previously marked for demolition by the Lagos State Building Control Agency, but occupants reportedly ignored the evacuation directive,” it said.
PUNCH Metro correspondent, who visited the scene of the incident on Monday, had earlier reported that some of the residents were aware that the building was in distress.
“I was called in the middle of the night that the building had collapsed, and I had to rush down here. When I got here, I saw that my goods, worth millions of naira, were trapped under the building. Some of them have been destroyed.
“The government had been giving us notice to leave the place because the building is distressed, but the owner has not been cooperating,” a shop owner, who identified herself as Mrs Adaeze, told our correspondent.
She stressed that her goods, worth millions of naira, were still trapped under the rubble.
She appealed for government support to cushion the impact of the loss she had incurred.
Another resident, Habeeb Jamiu, noted that the incident followed a midnight rainfall.
He said residents were alerted by the wailing of the occupants who were calling for help from under the debris of the collapsed building.
According to Jamiu, the building had shown signs of distress, but the occupants ignored them.
Jamiu narrated, “I was awake and not far from this place when some others and I, who were together, learnt that a building had collapsed. It was immediately after the rain stopped around 1 a.m.
“When we got here, we heard the wailing of people and began to rescue them before the emergency responders came.
“It is true that the building was in distress. When you passed around the building, you would see signs of visible cracks that would make you wonder why they were still living there.”
NEMA, which commended the professionalism and swift intervention of all responding agencies, “reiterates the need for residents to comply with official safety and evacuation notices to prevent avoidable loss of lives.”
