WORKERS and customers have been trapped at a collapsed building housing a restaurant on Oremeta Street in the Ojodu area of Lagos State.
The two-storey building housing the Equal Right Restaurant reportedly collapsed on Saturday, trapping several people inside.
The building had a restaurant on the ground floor, while the three upper floors were unoccupied.
According to reports, the building collapsed around 9 am, trapping restaurant workers, customers, and a family present at the scene.
Emergency responders, including police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and fire services, rushed to the scene to rescue those trapped, while sympathisers gathered to offer support.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, told journalists at the scene that five people were rescued alive.
He said the agency was approaching the situation systematically, using heavy-duty and light-duty equipment to get to the ground floor.
“We have credible information that more people are still under the rubble, so we are moving from one layer to the next, carefully checking for any survivors before proceeding,” he stated.
Also commenting on the incident, the Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, confirmed the number of rescued victims and said there could be more people in the debris.
Adeseye, who spoke through the service spokesperson, Skahiru Amodu, said the rescued victims suffered varying degrees of injuries and were first attended to by Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS) before they were taken to the hospital for further treatment.
“We have always stressed that it’s not healthy and safe for a building not to be occupied for a long period because over time it loses its integrity and strength to stand the test of time.
“Unoccupied buildings are often prone to collapse at any moment,” Adeseye stated.
She added that everything was under control and there was no cause for alarm.
Building collapse is not new in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria. In July 2024, five people died in a collapsed building on Wilson Mba Street, Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, in the country’s commercial hub.
According to LASEMA, at least five persons were recovered dead from the debris, while five others were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The incident occurred around midnight when three terraces under construction unexpectedly fell.
The ICIR reports that there have been several other incidents of building collapse in Lagos State. In the last 10 years, the state has recorded no less than 115 incidents of building collapse.
According to LASEMA, between January and July 2022, the state recorded no less than 30 cases of building collapse.
In some cases, there were no fatalities, while in others, scores of people perished in the rubble.
For instance, a 21-storey building located at Gerard Road, Ikoyi, caved in in November 2021, leading to the death of about 45 people.
Also, the collapse of the Lekki Gardens in Ikoyi in 2016 claimed about 35 lives.
A reporter with the ICIR
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