Two more buildings collapse in Ojodu Berger, Lagos

 

 Fresh facts emerged yesterday on the three-storey  building that collapsed on Tuesday afternoon on 14 Bashiru Street, off Isheri Road, Ojodu Berger, Lagos.
Two dead bodies were recovered from the rubble while another two persons were rescued alive. The survivors had been taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for medical attention. As at 6:40p.m yesterday, the rescue operation was still ongoing.
The rescue operation was carried out by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Physical Planning Commission and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), among others.

The first person that was rescued from the scene on Tuesday evening was not so lucky as he had breathed his last before help came his way. But the second person, Harrisu Madougu, 15, from the Republic of Niger, was rescued alive about 2:00a.m. The third person that was rescued alive was simply identified as Mr. Joe, who is in his early 30s.
The corpse of the fourth victim, Yusuf Sule, a bricklayer, was recovered from the rubble at  about 5:05p.m. The dead body had swollen and his father was at the scene. He was visibly shocked. Unverified reports said he is also the father of Harrisu Madougu.
At about 5:40, representatives of the Hausa community approached the Lagos State Government officials to release the corpse of Sule to them. They came in two trucks and a car. They said Sule must be buried yesterday. The body was released to them and it was conveyed out of the scene in a sky blue Mercedes Benz with registration bumber, LAGOS EQ 69 SMK.
Director, Lagos State Fire Services, Mr. Razaq Fadipe, lamented that the absence of attendance register for the construction workers made it difficult for the rescue team to know the exact number of the people who were trapped under the rubble.
“We received the distress call at 15:04 on Tuesday. The fire trucks at Alausa station moved to the scene immediately. When they got here, they discovered that it was a three-storey structure meant for a church purpose. The structure was down already. We immediately engaged in search and rescue operation. We succeeded in recovering a body yesterday. Also, we rescued another person alive.
Spokesperson of NEMA , South-West, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said their camera detected the last man that was rescued alive. In his words: “The camera detected him. We raised the voice. He spoke but the voice was weak. Then, we mobilised resources to get him and he was taken to the hospital. The man was weak. So, we could not question him. We will question him when he regains consciousness.
“On Tuesday evening, we rescued one dead body and early on Wednesday morning, we rescued Harrisu Madougu. The man that lost his life was a bricklayer at the site. One of his relations came here and told us that the deceased used to take Harrisu to wherever he went to do any construction job.”
The two-storey building beside the collapsed church, according to Farinloye, failed integrity test conducted on it on Tuesday. He disclosed that the occupants of the house had been given 48 hours to vacate. He said another storey building opposite the house that failed integrity test would also be subjected to the same latest.
He continued: “Only today (Wednesday), I have got up to 40 calls and emails that told us about houses that should be demolished in Lagos and Ogun states. The people said those houses might collapse any moment from now. We have released the information to the appropriate agencies. Between now and Friday, integrity tests will be conducted on them.”
Commissioner for Physical Planning, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, who led the rescue opperations on Tuesday averred that heavy duty earth moving equipment were deployed to help rescue the victims. He confirmed that the structure was approved by the Federal Ministry of Housing, adding that it was too quick to conclude what might have caused the building collapse.
The NEMA spokesman, who expressed serious concern about the spate of collapsed building in Nigeria, said a storey building collapsed yesterday at Bariga killing one person while another one, a three-storey building also cave in at Ikorodun but nobody was killed.
In a related development, two buildings located in Ikorodu and Bariga areas of the state collapsed, killing one person, even as scores of occupants were trapped under the rubble.
Daily Sun correspondent learnt that the building at Bariga, located at 19, Shogbawon Street caved in and fell on a 27-year-old lady who died instantly.
Daily Sun gathered from a Lagos State Government officer working with the Ministry of Physical Planning that the building had collapsed last year killing one person, adding that the owner went ahead to rebuild the house despite that it was sealed off by the government.
A three-storey building under construction in Ikorodu was also said to have collapsed destroying property worth millions of naira.
The spokesperson of National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye attributed the collapse to the downpour witnessed across the state in the early hours of yesterday.
On the collapsed building at Ikorodu, Farinloye said two teenagers were rescued alive, including a child.
Also speaking on the issue, the Chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area, Abiodun Oloro who bemoaned the sharp practices of the developer, lamented that the council was not aware of construction of the building before it caved in.