The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Thursday said it recovered one dead body from a three-storey building that collapsed in Lagos Island.
The LASEMA Director-General, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed this in a statement in Lagos, said the five-year-old casualty died as a result of a beam that collapsed on him.
He said the agency received a distress call at about 10:55 a.m. of a collapsed building at No. 19, Church Street in Lagos Island.
Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said LASEMA’s swift response to the distress call helped in saving the lives of the occupants of the building except one.
“The single, yet-to-be identified fatality was due to a room beam that partially collapsed on him when the incident occurred.
“Further investigation revealed that the building had been slated for non integrity test because of visible cracks on the beam and columns of the building.
“All the tenants had been asked to evacuate and the building cordoned off for safety of residents,” he said.
He said that LASEMA Response Team, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA) and the Lagos State Safety Commission were all at the scene to conduct proper assessment of the affected building.
‘Structural failure’
Meanwhile, Gbolahan Oki, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, said the building collapsed late into the night while the occupants were still asleep.
He said initial investigation into the cause of the collapse indicates a structural failure of a part of the beam of the of slab carrying water tank for the use of the occupants.
While commiserating with families of affected victims Mr Oki appealed to Lagosians “to always report cases of distressed buildings around them, as this will help stem the tide of needless loss of lives and properties due to building collapse”.
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