Death toll rises in another Lagos building collapse

The death toll from the collapsed building in Lagos has risen to five, officials said on Thursday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the building collapsed at Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, Lagos, at about 3:49 a.m.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed the new death toll on Thursday morning.

The agency’s Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the total number of deaths was now five adult males while the rescued persons were now five.

“The first three victims that were rescued were taken to the Gbagada General Hospital.

“The other two victims who were rescued were ferried to the Trauma Centre at Gbagada after being stabilised.

“In all, the five adult male victims who were recovered dead have been handed over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit for further processing.

“A search and rescue operation is still ongoing to ground zero,” he said.

LASEMA said it received a distress call about the collapsed building at No 13 Wilson Mba Str., Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, Lagos, at about 3:49 a.m.

The agency said this prompted the immediate activation of its response team at 3:58 a.m. to the scene of the incident.

The latest incident adds to the rising cases of building collapse in Lagos and across Nigeria.

At least 22 buildings collapsed across Nigeria between 1 January and 14 July; with Lagos accounting for over a quarter of them, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), said.

“As a matter of fact, over 91 buildings have collapsed resulting in the death of over 354 persons in Lagos from 2012 to date,” COREN President Sadiq Abubakar said.

Mr Abubakar said the leading causes of building collapse vary from one location to the other.

He said some buildings collapse as a result of ageing as well as the use of substandard construction materials.

He said that other factors included illegal change of use of buildings, illegal addition of floors, quackery, and inadequate or lack of supervision and oversight.

He added that other factors included faulty foundations, a lack of soil/geotechnical investigation, and sharp and corrupt practices.

“As a matter of fact, over 91 buildings have collapsed resulting in the death of over 354 persons in Lagos from 2012 to date.