8 rescued as building collapses in Lagos

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), on Saturday, says it has rescued eight persons from a three-storey building that collapsed at No 10, Oremeta St., Ojodu-Berger, Lagos.

The Permanent Secretary of the agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said the incident happened around 09.45 hrs.

“Following distress alerts at 09.45hrs, LASEMA activated the Emergency Response Plans from Command and Control Centre, Alausa and Onipanu.

“Upon arrival at the incident scene by 09.52hrs, it was discovered that a three-storey building housing a restaurant and bar had collapsed, with several victims trapped under the debris at the aforementioned location.

“Eight victims has been rescued so far. One of the rescued victims attended to by the LASEMA Pre-Hospital Care Unit has been transported to the hospital for further medical attention.

“No deaths have been recorded so far from the incident,” he said.

He said the cause of the collapsed building was yet to be ascertained.

He added that LASEMA response teams commenced search and rescue efforts immediately on arrival.

“Safety measures were activated with the operational area cordoned-off at the incident scene and update to follow,” he said.

Meanwhile, a NAN Correspondent, who was at the scene, reports that efforts are still underway as emergency responders continue to search through the rubble.

NAN reports that the search was being handled collaboratively by LASEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire and Ambulance Services, as well as the Public Works Corporation.

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Mr Oke-Osayintolu at the scene of the collapsed building, praised the swift action of the first responders and also commended the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for maintaining security in the densely populated neighborhood.

Among those caught in the debris was a family believed to be inside their vehicle, which was parked near the popular restaurant and bar that occupied the ground floor of the building.

(NAN)