LASEMA confirms three persons dead, 10 injured after building collapses in Lagos

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Thursday confirmed that three persons died on Wednesday night following the collapse of two residential buildings on Lagos Island.

The LASEMA General Manager, Mr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, told newsmen in Ikeja that 10 persons were also injured in the incident which occurred at about 11.30 p.m.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the incident occurred when a three-storey building located on Alli Street, Lagos Island, collapsed on a bungalow beside it.

He said his men with other emergency response officials had to dig into the rubble to remove the dead victims and the injured.

According to him, the injured are being treated at an undisclosed public hospital while the remains of the dead victims have been deposited at the hospital morgue.

Oke-Osanyintolu, who said the cause of the collapse had not been ascertained, noted that a number of distressed buildings had been identified in the area.

“We will carry out investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident. Commissioners and emergency officials were on ground early today to really find out what happened.

“We are studying the situation, and we will definitely unravel the cause,’’ he said.

He said no fewer than 10 cases of building collapse had been recorded on the Island this year alone.

The general manager urged residents to subject their buildings to structural testing by the appropriate government agency to help address the problem.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Babatunde Fashola, had on May 19, inaugurated a Tribunal of Enquiry on Building Collapse in the state, with the mandate to ascertain the causes of the menace and make recommendations.

The six-man committee, which has since commenced work, is yet to submit its reports to the state government. (NAN)