Search and rescue operatives combing the rubble of the seven-storey building that collapsed at Oba Idowu Oniru Street, Lekki, Lagos State, have recovered four more corpses.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement on Monday, confirmed the development 24 hours after emergency responders had recovered two corpses at the scene of the incident on Sunday.
Oke-Osanyintolu said, “The agency alongside other first responders has been working for over 24 hours at the seven-storey building which collapsed yesterday. Another four bodies have been extricated from the rubble bringing the fatalities to six. The process is ongoing.”
Similarly, the Lagos Territorial Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, in a chat with our correspondent, also confirmed that four corpses including that of an adult male were recovered.
He said, “Six corpses including that of an elderly man have been recovered from the rubble as recovery efforts continue.”
PUNCH Metro had reported that some persons were sleeping in the seven-storey building under construction when the building collapsed around 3am on Sunday.
While some of the occupants escaped death, it was learnt that some other persons, who were unlucky, were trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building.
Emergency responders including officials of the LASEMA, the NEMA, and the police, among others, had been engaging in a search and rescue operation to rescue the trapped victims.
Reacting, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, had in a statement, ordered the arrest of the developer and other professionals involved in the collapsed building.
However, a series of building collapses that claimed the lives of residents had been recorded in the state.
Angered by these tragic developments, residents alongside experts in the building industry had slammed developers, among others, for using substandard materials and not conforming to standard building regulations in Lagos State.
Also, the Lagos State Government, particularly the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, had also been under heavy criticism for the reoccurring building collapse killing people in the state.
Amid the criticisms, a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed Salako’s resignation, noting that the commissioner’s resignation was part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s efforts to restructure the ministry and its agencies.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu thanks the Commissioner for his services to the state and wishes him success in his future endeavours.
“The Governor warns all players in the sector to respect the law or face the consequences of any indiscretion, no matter who the perpetrators are,” the statement said.
