National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed one person dead following the collapse of a four-storey building at 333 Borno Way, Alagomeji, Yaba area of Lagos State .
NEMA, in its Day 2 incident report yesterday, said the body of a male victim was recovered from the rubble during ongoing search and rescue operations.
An earlier report had stated that four people were rescued alive from the structure, which caved in at about 7:46 pm on Friday.
In an update on X, NEMA said: “Search-and-rescue operation is still ongoing at the building collapse scene. NEMA, LASEMA, Fire Services, Police, FRSC, and NSCDC are on the ground.
“The number of persons rescued remains four; they are in stable condition. No additional person has been rescued at the time of this report, but there is speculation of two more persons under the rubble., NEMA said.
In a subsequent update, the agency confirmed that one body had been retrieved from the debris, even as efforts continue to ensure that no one is left trapped.
“One body (male) has just been recovered from the rubble. Search-and-Rescue operation is still ongoing,” NEMA said.
The Lagos State Fire Service reported that eight construction workers had been rescued from the site of the collapsed building.
Its Deputy Controller General, Olajide Ogabi, allayvzed the public fear of a passive leaked gas pipeline with odour that pervaded the Ikeja axis on Friday evening, saying the situation has been brought under control without any record of actualities.
According to Ogabi, all eight trapped victims have been rescued alive as of 5 am yesterday and were receiving treatment in the hospital, as search and rescue reached ground zero while evacuation of rubble continued.
The four-storey building under construction gave way at about 8 pm on Friday, as reported before the intervention of first responders.
Lagos State has all relevant emergency responders, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command, among others, at the scene for the rescue mission.
“Further updates will be communicated as the situation unfolds, please,” Ogabi stated.
On the leaked gas pipeline, Ogabi explained that the exercise, which was a routine decongestion of gaseous particles by Axxela Group, the parent company of Gaslink, the owners of gas pipeline lines supplying the corridors, had assured that the effect had been neutralised.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama